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THE BEST OF

TS 1500

TS 2068

SINCLAIR/TIMEX USERS MAGAZINE

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A compilation of the best articles, reviews, programs,
and hardware projects up through December, 1985

Welcome to the “Best of SUM”

Our Timex Sinclair User's Group began
here in Gainesville in September 1982. The
newsletter started out as postcards sent
out to a handful of people telling them
when and where the next meeting would be.
In January of 1983, we started sending out
a single sheet of typed "news" in the
Sinclair world, mostly news from Europe
and short little tidbits of club going-
ons .

Slowly we grew to a two page, and then
to a four page - all typed. The July 1983
newsletter was the first one created using
a word processor - the TS 1000 using
Memotech's Memotext, their printer
interface, and the Seikosha GP-100 printer
(later to be known as the Gorilla Banana).
It was right hand justified, and (we
thought) looked great. It also contained
pictures for the first time.

The newsletter stayed at four pages for
the next year covering events at the last
meeting, reviews, short programs submitted
by our members and where to find hardware
and software for our computers. The group
was listed in all the major magazines and
we were starting to receive correspondence
from all over the US and some foreign
countries!

When Timex called it quits in March of
1983, it looked uncertain as to the future
of our computers, user's group, and
newsletter. It appeared as if everything
was g t ng to dry up .

Instead, we were flooded with requests
for more information on our group and
newsletter. There was a great thirst for
Sinclair knowledge from everywhere. Every-
one wanted to unite to keep the faith
going. So did we.

With requests on more information
coming in everyday, Richard Cravy and I
decided to turn the newsletter into a
magazine. We felt that this would allow us
to provide better quality to our readers
than would a newsletter.

August 1984 was our first issue out as
SUM Magazine. It was eight pages and had
six articles and two ads. We had a mailing
list of about 100 names to start with and
licked stamps for each one until February
of 1985, when we went to bulk mailing with
about 300 subscribers.

As we gained more and more subscribers,
we found that alot of new ones wanted back
issues to catch up on what we had been
reporting. This was fine until we ran out
of the issues we had, but the requests
kept coming. So as 1985 came to a close,
we decided that we needed some way to
satisfy all of you who still wanted those
old articles. Enter BEST OF SUM!

BEST OF SUM contains all the major
articles that have appeared in SUM from
August 1984 to December 1985. Because
there were some good articles back in our
newsletter days, it also contains the best
of those. We hope the wait was worth it
for those of you who have been waiting for
this, and look forward for more.

Richard and I want to thank you for
your support in the past and hope that it
will continue. Remember, we (and everyone
else who supports the TS line) depend on
you!

Joe Williamson

SOFTWARE REVIEW by Al Mollitor

CALORIE COUNTER
by Foote Software
For TS 1500 and TS 1000/16K RAM

Of the many people trying to lose
weight, a few eventually discover that
calorie intake must not exceed calorie
expenditure. Counting calories can be a
bothersome task, but for some of us, this
may be the only way, at least initially,
to balance our metabolic budgets.

CALORIE COUNTER by Foote Software could
be a handy way to keep track of calories.
This is a very user-friendly, menu driven,
BASIC program with three main parts.

First, the user must enter and SAVE the
name, unit measure, and caloric concentra-
tion of all foods usually eaten. Up to 200
foods can be stored, and since only two
examples are given, the user must gather
calorie information from other sources.
This allows the user to customize the
program according to their particular
eating habbits. Once the data is SAVEd,
the user can select the menu item for
counting calories. Fool-proof prompts
guide entry of items eaten during a meal
or day. A simple "TOTAL" command adds it
all up.

Perhaps the most interesting part of
the program is the routine that calculates
calorie allowance. Based on sex, weight,
and activity level, the program provides
daily calorie expenditure. A comparison of
this allowance with the number of calories
determined by the counting routine can be
very enlightening! !

In all, the program is very well

written and is easy to use. It doesn't
make it any easier to eat less, but no
program can do that.

I can think of three improvements that
could be made. There should be a routine
for listing and viewing all the foods
stored in the table, and there should be a
way to edit any item in the list. Finally,
the calorie allowance routine should be
integrated with the calorie counting
routine to provide an estimate of
projected weight change over say, a one
week or month period. This is a pretty
good program, and it was produced right
here in Gainesville! It represents a good
value for someone who is watching their
waistline and is looking for a more
serious use for his or her TS 1000/1500.

Here is a simple battery back-up for your
ZX81/TS1000 in case you lose power. When
power is interrupted, the diode becomes
forward biased and passes current to the
computer. If you use a fresh alkaline bat-
tery, the computer should easily stay
powered for one— half hour.

March 1983

NEW PRODUCTS

Memotech has just released three (four if
you count the keyboard) new products.
These three new add-ons are firmware,
which is software that resides permanently
on an EPROM.

MEMOCALC is a spreadsheet analysis pro-
gram which enables users to perform com-
plex number crunching routines with ease.
Up to 7,000 numbers with up to 250 rows or
99 columns can be specified with a 64K RAM
pack. Capabilities include entering new
data to your formula and recalculating.

MEMOTEXT is a word processor program
with full text editing on the screen and
full control over output. 80 character
lines, upper and lower case, single and
double size characters are all available.

MEMOPAK ASSEMBLER is for the serious
programmer of machine code for the TS1000.
Full editing aZlows nanipulatior of indi-
vidual lines and exact placing of source
and machine code. Routines may be merged
or listed (screen or printer). The assem-
bler mode handles all standard Z80 mnemon-
ics, hex or decimal, comments and user
selected labels.

Memotech has put their disk drive on
the "back burner" due to lack of demand.
Timex's disk drive will probably come out
after their color computer. Other com-
panies do have disk drives available for
the ZX81 and TS1000 now. Check advertise-
ments in SYNTAX and SYNC magazines.

32K MEMOPAK INCOMPATIBLE

Memotech has announced that its 32K RAM
packs are incompatible with the Timex
TS20A0 Printer. Memotech is working on the
problem, but so far no theories on the
cause. The 32K RAM Pack does work with the
ZX Printer. All other Memopaks do work
with the TS2040 Printer.

May 1983

MEMOTEXT REVIEW

You may have noticed that this newsletter
is slightly different from previous ones.
This is because this whole newsletter was
created using Memotech* s new Memotext
which is a word processor.

The program comes to you in the form of
an EPROM (Erasable Programable Read Only
Memory) and is housed in the familiar
Memotech case. After you plug in the pro-
gram (with memory and printer interface),
the program starts to run immediately (no
tape loading). The first thing it asks is
whether you are using a serial or parallel
interface. I answered "parallel" for the
Memotech parallel interface and printer I
was using.

Next it prompts for DATE1 and DATE2
which can be any text or a date as the
name implies. The information can be
called and printed from your text file.

There are 17 functions you can use
which affects both data and text files.
Functions include Create, Amend, Delete,
Display, Load, Save, Rename, and Print.
The data file allows you to store names
and addresses and call them for use by
using abbreviations.

To create a text file, you type in CTF
and the computer asks for a name for the
file. Once entered, the program goes into
text mode. Memotext completely redefines
the scanning of the keyboard, so you can
type as fast as you can, and the computer
will keep up with you without any screen
flicker. The format starts off with 66
characters per line, 60 lines per page and
6 blank lines between pages, but of course
you can change all these.

You have control characters for tab,
centering, headers, indenting, vertical
tab, move on to start of next page, sub-
stitutes for DATE1 and DATE2, data file
calls, conversion from hexadecimal numbers
to binary (for printer control such as
underlining and multi-pass strike over),
current page number, soft hyphen and quit.

After you have typed in your text, you
can move blocks of text and exchange them.
After everything is correct, you can go
into print mode. It asks for the name of
the text file you want printed and whether
you want it to print pages singularly or
continuously. Next it prompts: "Justify
y/n?", (a very nice feature). If you ans-
wer yest, all lines end in the same column
except for end of paragraphs. If you ans-
wer no, you will have the typewriter style
of "ragged right margin". It then asks for
a page number for where it will start
printing and then asks for how the data
file will be entered, either from in-text
prompts or select as you go along. There
is even the choice of having it print a
letter for each record in the data file,
personalizing each letter respectively.

All in all this is one of the best and
most useful programs for the Timex-Sin-
clair I*ve seen yet.

Joe Williamson

SUNTRONICS KEYBOARD REVIEW

The Suntronics KD-81 Keyboard is a fully
cased keyboard with full-size keys, in-
cluding 2 shift keys, and a space bar. The
printed circuit board from the computer
fits inside the new plastic keyboard's
vaporized metal coated case. Assembly re-
quires attaching the PC board inside the
case with 5 screws and slipping the key-
board's ribbon cables into the computer's
2 keyboard sockets. After using the key-
board for one month, I find it works great
and is easy to assemble and operate.

Roger Hunziker

24 USABLE LINES

Have you ever wondered why the TS 1000
won't print to the last two lines in the
display? The reason is because the last
two lines are reserved for editing. But
while the program is running, why can’t
you use the last two lines then? The truth
is, you can! The number of blank lines at
the bottom of the screen is held in memory
location 16418. If you PEEK this location,
2 should be the result. This variable is
set by the computer when you power up. To
print on the last two lines, POKE 16418,0.
Now the computer has 0 blank lines at the
bottom of the screen and 24 lines to print
to! Don't use PRINT AT or SCROLL, as the
system will crash.

Having those last two lines are useful
if you are handling a lot of data and want
to fill the screen with as much data as
possible. Lets say you have data you are
storing in a DIM statement in say DIM
A(44,4). Here is a program you can use as
a subroutine to display all this data in
four screens instead of five and still
have nice clean headings. After the screen
fills, press enter for the next screen.
After runnig it once, change line 6020 to
POKE 16418,2 and try it again.

Joe Williamson

6000 LET M=1
6010 CLS

6020 POKE 16418,0

6030 PRINT " YOUR HEADINGS "

6040 PRINT

6050 FOR N=1 TO 22

6060 PRINT A(M, 1) M ;A(M,2);” "

;A(M,3) ; " ";A(M,4)

6070 LET M=M+1
6080 NEXT N

6090 IF INKEy$='*" THEN GOTO 6090
6100 IF M=44 THEN RETURN
6110 GOTO 6050

SOFTWARE REVIEWS by Richard Cravy

FROGGER by Comsoft, TS 1000/ 16K. For
those who have played the arcade version
of FROGGER, there are differences. Besides
the things we are used to with our TSIOOOs

— no sound and no color — the Timex
version compensates for the fairly coarse
graphics of its screen by presenting only
half the typical arcade at a time. The
busy highway section fills the whole
screen. As soon as this is negotiated, the
screen switches to the river crossing. All
in all, I rate this an excellent
adaptation even though I'm still not as
good as ray children are! They assure me
that the later screens get harder.

MOTHERSHIP by So ft sync, TS 1000/16K. This
game reminds me of the Death star in Star
Wars as the fighters streak down the
narrow canyon firing at each other. In
MOTHERSHIP, you are offered three levels
of difficulty. The basic object of the
game is to destroy ten oncoming ships so
you can get a shot at the Mothership
located beyond the end of the corridor and
who is fighting back. This program makes
outstanding use of the graphics and
simulates the turning of the surface
beneath your fighter as you fly. This is
another good game for those of us who love
to play.

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•TV "■ • . - '■ •

TS 1500 REVIEW

The new 1500 is here and it lives up to
everyone's expectations of being the
perfect "big brother” to the TS1000.
Sporting a long awaited large-style
keyboard, the 1500 is wider than the 1000,
but overall, shorter than the 1000. 16K of
RAM is built in this time with the
availability of expanding out to 32K with
the addition of Timex's 1016 16K RAM pack.
Other RAM packs do not work with the 1500,
although most peripherals do. We know for
certain that Memotech's Assembler,
Memocalc, and Memotext all work, but not
their RAM packs.

The rear-edge connector bus has been
buffered, so connecting to the "real
world" will be safer, and current drain is
less than the 1000 with 16K attached. This
is due to overall economy on chips and use
of CMOS technology. The RF modulator is
Timex built, and part of the circuit board
with TV channel output changed via the
keyboard as you power up. A better
shielding scheme reduces radiated
interference and the rubber-like keys
provide a very positive feel.

Sample software comes with the computer
which includes Grimm's Fairy Trails (like
PacMan) and Biorhythms, plus a load check
program to help you find optimum level
settings on your tape recorder. Also, a
much more concise and well written user's
manual is included which deserves its own
review (far better than that included with
the 1000). All in all, the 1500 is an
excellent machine with a pricetag less
than $100 as the TS 1000 was advertised
only a short year ago with only 2K of RAM!

Joe Williamson

TS 2068 REVIEW

When I last wrote about the 2068 two
months ago, I really didn't have a chance
to put the computer through its paces. I
didn't even have a color TV to work with!
Well, now that they are out and I have
one, I had better finish that article.
Even though they advertise eight colors,
the BRIGHT command gives you two
brightnesses for each color for a total of
16 distinguishable colors. The colors are
strong and vibrant with less interference
than I had expected. Each color can be
given to the BORDER, the PAPER, and the
INK and all can be mixed at any given time
with different brightness levels. The
display can be set in different modes and
has the ability to display 64 characters
per line through software control which
will undoubtedly be used with Timex's

modem and word processor package plus a
number of games.

The printer flawlessly COPYs each pixel
printed on the screen so long as it is not
the same color as the paper. The user's
manual is good in its presentation of the
2068 although it does assume some prior
knowledge of computers and BASIC program-
ming in general. Learning to use the sound
generator is probably the most complex
part of the book. It will take awhile to
understand and use it although the book
does supply several routines to get you
started.

The keyboard has a good feel to it and
includes raised homing dots on the F and J
keys. A unique feature with the

auto-repeat function while using delete is
that the line number and semicolon (used
to seperate multiple commands in one line)
will not erase immediatly thus preventing
you from accidentally deleting into the
next "good" or wanted BASIC command or
line number. However, holding the delete
key down for three or four repeats will

allow you to override this feature and
delete more. The LIST command has the
feature in that it will list the first 22
lines of a program and than prompt you
with the question: "SCROLL?" If you hit

any key other than n, BREAK or the

spacebar, the next 22 lines will be listed
and so on. Editing is done the same as
before. The inverse greater than cursor
has been replaced with a "true" greater
than cursor and does tend to get lost in
the text, but using say LIST 1000 will
always make the edit line line 1000 as
before.

Nine new I/O commands have been added
to support mass storage and other devices
directly from the keyboard. Also, Inputs
from the two joystick (how about inputs
from something other than joysticks? - why
not?!) ports are selected by the STICK
command .

The DATA, READ, and RESTORE commands
have been added which allows easier
manipulation of data thoughout your

program. LOADing and SAVEing are five
times faster than on previous units and a
tone header allows the computer to sense
and adjust to differences in tape recorder
motor speed which helps assure good

loading every time. Also, as the tape
loads, the title appears on the screen
telling you that you are LOADing the
correct program. The same is true for DATA
and CODE loading. MERGE is included which

allows you to merge one program onto
another.

POINT will check to see if the next
pixel is "on". FREE gives the amount of
available memory. ATTRibute checks for the
characteristics of a character block.
BINary is used in creating user defined
graphics or just entering in binary form.
BEEP beeps for a specified duration and
frequency (different from SOUND). CIRCLE
draws a line from a specified position and
radius. DRAW draws a line from specifed
point to specified point (can go through
any type of mathematics). DEF FN and FN
allows defining a function and then
calling it in a program. ON ERR allows
trapping of errors, correcting them, then
continuing without breaking the program. A
handy quick reference guide is included
which covers the BASIC operating system.

Joe Williamson

BOOK REVIEW by Joe Williamson

TIMEX/ SINCLAIR INTERFACING by James M.
Downey and Don Rindsberg contains more
than seven tested hardware projects for
the ZX80 , ZX81, TS 1000, and the TS 1500.
The book is well written and concise,
intended for someone with some knowledge
of electronics and microcomputers. The
book begins with the fundamentals of
microcomputers and construction tech-
niques. It also tells you how to build a
logic probe for debugging any problems
that arise. The book goes into great
detail of memory mapping and how to decode
memory.

The construction articles include how
to build a relay controller, digital-to-
analog and analog-to-digital converters,
joystick interface, serial and parallel
printer interface, additional memory and
how to make your computer into a dumb
terminal for communicating with host
computers. All the projects are easy to
understand and use readily available
parts. The dumb terminal and printer
projects even include machine code
programs to drive the interface plus many
BASIC routines are included for usLng each
project .

Even though this book was written with
the beginner in mind, you should not
tackle any of these projects without
gaining some experience with simpler
projects and learning good soldering and/
or wirewrapping techniques. All in all,
this is the best book I've seen so far in
making hardware additions to your Timex/
Sinclair. I found my copy at B. Dalton's
bookstore.

1983

Last year was quite a busy year for the
home computer market. New products making
their debut with some making it to the
shelves while others are shelved before
being released. Still others went bankrupt
or got out of the home computer market all
together. Timex, on the other hand, is
still going strong with a good share of
the market (Sinclair shipped 35% of the
1,775,000 microcomputers shipped in 1982).

Meanwhile, Timex keeps introducing new
and better products which turn out more
popular than the last. Products introduced
last year are: TS 2040 printer, TS 1500
(16K, large keyboard, enhanced version of
the TS 1000), TS 2068 (72K, color, sound,
hi-res graphics), TS 2020 program
recorder, and the TS 2090 command sticks.
And still more products will be available
this year!

Support from user's groups like ours
are a major contributor to the success of
a computer because as a group we can get
together and discuss problems we are
experiencing and work them out instead of
giving up all hope of ever learning to use
a computer. This year should prove to be
more successful than ever due to all the
support we have generated for our
computer. So lets work ou that theme for
1984.

SETTING UP THE 2068

Next time you sit down to program on
your 2068, try this upon powering up:
CLEAR 65535: POKE 23561,10: POKE 23562,2:
POKE 23609,5. The CLEAR 65535 gives you
the most free memory available. At this

point, PRINT FREE should give 38820.
Normally, the computer sets aside some
memory for user defined graphics, this of
course wipes out that area, so if you plan
on using user defined graphics, I would
not suggest using CLEAR 65535.

POKEing 23561 with 10 reduces the
amount of time before repeat begins.
POKEing 23562 with 2 shortens the delay
between successive repeats and POKEing
23609 with 5 makes the keyboard click
length longer so you have a better chance
of hearing it .

To emulate the scroll command not found
on the 2068, use POKE 23692,2. To print
down to the 24th line, use POKE 23659,0.
To avoid crashing the system, you must
POKE 23659 back to 2 before anything else
is done to the screen.

As far as colors are concerned, I like
to use blue BORDER and blue PAPER with
white INK when using a color monitor and
white ink on a black background when using
a monochrome monitor. Try different com-
binations to see what you prefer to stare
at for hours on end.

The ON ERR command is quite a powerfull
and usefull new addition to Sinclair
BASIC. Using this command, you can trap
errors such as invalid inputs or
accidental "breaking" of a program such
that even the most inexperienced user of
the program can use it without worrying
what to do if they accidentally break into
the program. It also safeguards the
program against unauthorized copying of
the program, but be sure and put a
"back-door” code into your program so YOU
can break into the program and make any
modifications that may become necessary.

The 2068 has three options that can be
used with ON ERR. ON ERR GOTO makes the
computer go to a specific line number
(such as a menu) to handle an attempt to
break into a program, ON ERR CONT makes
the computer continue where the error
occured (such as an INPUT statement), and
ON ERR RESET which disables ON ERR.

I have used this command in several
programs I have written and like it's
function very much. If you are writing
software for resale, the fact that it
helps protect the program makes it
invaluable.

Joe Williamson

Headline — February 24, 1984
"TIMEX LEAVES THE MARKET"

Timex Computer Corporation drops out of
the home computer market! You read it
right. Timex is not continuing with its
computer product line. Why? Well, you may
have noticed that they never did much ad-
vertisng, and because of that, they put
themselves under. Sinclair has been criti-
cal of how Timex handled their computer
all along. So, out with Timex and back in
Sinclair?

Not exactly. It's true that Sinclair
will be marketing the QL cccome fall by
mailorder, but not their other products.
The reason is they are not FCC type ap-
proved. They could easily have it done,
but the money involved may be too great.
They could continue with the present Timex
line. Who knows?

After speaking with Sinclair last Mon-
day, they have no plans to continue with
past products, but hopefully they (or some
one else) will continue with the current
fine line of Timex-Sinclair products. If
anything, it would be nice if Sinclair
would supply software for all of our com-
puters. The software all seems compatible,
even most of the Spectrum software works
on the TS-2068 we've found.

In the meantime, the Timex Modem will
be released and looks like an excellent
value for $120. Having auto-dial, auto-
connect, and auto-log on facilities. The
modem is compatible with the whole line.
They should be shipped this month. That is
all Timex says they will produce; what
else will come is anybody's guess.

I am personally maddened by this news.
Here Timex has been painting a rosy pic-
ture that Timex is doing better than ever
and then they do this.

Now more than ever user's groups play
an important part in supporting computers.
They may become the sole source for find-
ing information on their computer. Please
support your user's group and pass on or
gain information on your computer.

March 1984

TS-2068 GETS HAVE REVIEWS

Since Timex finally introduced its new
Timex-S inclair 2068 color computer this
past October/November, it has received
very favorable reviews in most of the pop-
ular microcomputer magazines. Those which
I have seen and read are the following:
COMPUTER SHOPPER, November 1983
COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS, November 1983
INFOWORLD, December 19, 1983
MICROCOMPUTING, February 1984
CREATIVE COMPUTING, March 1984
COMPUTE!, March 1984

These are in addition to the various
reviews found in magazines devoted specif-
ically to the Timex-Sinclair computers
such as SYNC and TIMEX SINCLAIR USER.

In order to give you an idea of how
favorable these reviews by non-TS fanatics
are, I've given several of the more im-
pressive quotations below:

"In terms of memory, graphics, and
sound, the Timex Sinclair 2068 is an im-
pressive entry into the under $200 mar-
ket." (COMPUTE!)

"Physically, the TS2068 is an attrac-
tive little computer .. .The TS2068 is well
equipped for playing games... When it comes
to graphics, the TS2068 outperforms almost
every other computer in its price range...
For $199.95 retail, the Timex Sinclair
2068 personal color computer represents
one of the best buys on the computer mar-
ket today. Aimed at the home user, the
TS2068 is certainly capable of living up
to almost any entertainment, educational,
or computer tutorial expectations the
prospective purchaser may have. For those
satisfied with, yet looking to graduate
fr ;m their ZX-81's and TS’.OOO's, I can
think of no better computer." (CREATIVE
COMPUTING)

"As for third-party support, there
isn't much (if any) right now, and whether
there will be in the future remains to be
seen. . .Publishers are more cautious than
optimistic, so it will probably be at
least a year (if at all) before third-
party programs proliferate. It was the
same story with the Commodore 64; I hope
the Timex story will have as happy an end-
ing... The Timex 2068 has promise; it has

potent ial .. .And , if Timex does some ag-
gressive marketing, you may find an ex-
plosion of third-party support available
by next year." (MICROCOMPUTING)

I know that we all hope that Timex does
in fact heavily support with both peri-
pherals and advertising the 2068. This
will give new computer buyers out there
the opportunity to learn about and buy one
of our favorite machines. Considering how
well Commodore has done with their model
64 and the huge software and hardware sup-
port that now exists for it, I certainly
hope our machines will do as well. The
Commodore machine is only now coming down
into the price range where the 2068 is be-
ginning! (The 64 started at $595!) I sus-
pect Timex has room to drop prices later
on, just as they did with the TS1000.
Meanwhile, features like the higher reso-
lution graphics and availability of 64
character screen lines which are not a-
vailable as standard features on the 64
should clearly demonstrate the greater
value of the 2068.

— Richard Cravy

BETTER SOUND

To increase the volume of SOUND on the
2068, try this little circuit. All the
components are available at Skipper Elec-
tronics including the edge connector.
Circuit placement is not critical, but try
to keep the signal lead as short as pos-
sible. In place of the #4B connection, you
can use a 9 volt battery. The 'A' side of
the the connector is toward the top of the
machine, and the slot is designated as pin
#6. — Jim Clark

April 1984

LOGIC ANALYZER

For my senior project in Electrical
Engineering at the University of Florida,
I decided to get to know my 2068 a little
better. I started dreaming up useful ideas
that my instructor would think would be
hard enough to be worthwhile to spend a
whole semester on designing. There are
dozens of things to build to add on to it,
but after looking at the possibilities, I
decided on an unusual idea after seeing a
$12,000 logic analyzer by Hewlett-Packard.
I was going to build a logic analyzer con-
trolled by my 2068.

My first thought was to memory map the
incoming data, which I had done before
with my ZX81, but I realized that there
was not any free memory to 'map' to. Then
I remembered the IN and OUT commands that
grace the new keyboard, and started re-
searching this scheme.

I found the IN and OUT commands to work
very well and was able to take a 2K memory
chip (the popular 6116 2K x 8 static RAM),
clock it at 8 mhz while reading in the
desired data, slowly read it into the 2068
which takes the data and converts it to
high and low marks (as shown below) and
displays it on the screen and prints it
out on the printer.

With this, you can tell when what hap-
pens with respect to data control lines,
memory addressing, and other logic func-
tions. The timing diagram of an arbitrary
set of addresses in the 2068 are shown
below. The vertical marks are 125 micro
seconds apart, which is the resolution of
the analyzer (1/8 mhz).

— Joe Williamson

SOFTWARE REVIEW: VOICE CHESS

One of the software packages recently
introduced for the TS2068 is "Voice Chess"
by SoftSync. Available on cassette, the
program loaded easily and utilized well
the features of the computer.

Seven levels of play are available with
the computer taking from 2 seconds up to
seemingly forever to make its move, de-
pending on the level you choose. After
selecting your level of play, you select
the color of your side, black or white,
and play begins.

And now the exciting part begins — the
computer talks to you! Each time you type
in your move or the computer moves, it
tells you the move made. In addition it
occasionally will throw in phrases such as
"I expected that” or "Uh, Oh”. Using the
sound synthesizer (I assume) in the mach-
ine, the voice is rather limited in its
range, sounding much like the voice of the
Speak & Spell by Texas Instruments. Since
the sound plays out through the small
speaker mounted on the bottom of the
TS2068, a better and louder sound can be
had by connecting the MIC output of the
computer to the MIC input of the cassette
recorder, pressing play and pause and ad-
justing the volume to suit. Be sure to un-
plug the EAR cable into the recorder. If
you have a tone control, set it towards
the bass for a clearer sound.

So much for the "voice"; what about the
"chess"? Not being a veteran player, I am
not able to say how tough the machine is,
but I never beat it at level 1. The graph-
ics of the board and pieces is good but a
little blurry in color on every TV tried.

Criticisms: the documentation — one
sheet of paper — is inadequate in several
respects. Most importantly it omits to
tell how to abandon play in progress and

begin a new game without reloading the
tape. Another disconcerting part of the
game is the computer's refusal to let you
make a move that would allow its Check to
become Checkmate and so end the game. The
tinny voice would declare "Illegal Move”
and wait for you to move again.

I enjoy this game a great deal and ex-
pect that its limited use of the sound
capabilities of the TS2068 is a preview of
greater things to come.

Recommendation: BUY.

— Richard Cravy
April 1984

NEW TS2040 PRINT STYLE

You may have noticed that the print ap-
pears to be denser than the standard print
from a TS2040 printer. You will notice
that the characters appear wider. Well,
thanks to Dick Scoville of the Triangle
Timex Sinclair User's Group, you can make
the letters on your screen darker by using
a short routine. You can COPY it to the
printer as was done here for darker print.
Load the rooutine and RUN it; then call it
with RAND USR 62608 after printing some-
thing to the screen:

10 CLEAR 62607

20 FOR N=62608 TO 62621

30 READ A

40 POKE N,A

50 NEXT N

60 DATA 33,0,88,43,124,254,64,216,126,31,
182,119,24,245

I use the above program and make the
USR call just before copying the screen.
In playing with it, I found that you can
keep darkening the characters 2 to 3 times
by calling it several times. You get some
very interesting fonts!

— Joe Williamson
May 1984

TS2050 MODEM

I ordered the Timex 2050 modem back in
January hoping I would get it in time to
use in a class I was taking at the Univer-

sity of Florida. Of course I never saw it
during that time. Finally I called Timex
and was told that Westridge Communications
in Marina Del Ray, CA had a compatible
unit. I called Westridge and spoke to a
man named Stuart. He told me that they, in
fact, have the actual Timex unit and were
selling it with their name on it instead
of Timex's because Timex broke their con-
tract after calling it quits.

Skipper Electronics ordered several
units to see how they went, and I got one
of the first in. The unit includes the
modem, power supply, 28 page manual, soft-
ware, and information for subscribing to
CompuServe and The Source.

The connector has a piggyback connector
on it like the 2040 printer and is silver
in color. The 2040 printer fits perfectly
on top; the unit measures 7 3/4 by 6 1/4
by 11/2 inches and a 12" shielded ribbon
cable between the connector and the unit.
The front is black with a data on light to
the left. It uses the same power supply as
the 1000/1500 and provides two modular
connections; one for the wall and one for
your phone. The cassette includes software
for the 2068 on one side and for the 1000,
ZX81, and 1500 on the other.

The manual gives step by step, easy to
understand instructions for setting up and
using the modem. Once the software is
loaded, a menu appears on the screen
directing you to press a key for auto
dialing a number, set BORDER, INK, and
PAPER color (TS2068), and system set up.
The modem initially sets up with full du-
plex, even parity, 7 bit word, and 1 stop
bit. This can easily be changed by press-
ing the appropriate key which toggles the
parameters to that desired.

The modem has auto dial and auto con-
nect and tells you when you are connected
with a host computer. Once online, any
ASCII character can be sent. A terminal
mode menu is also available which allows
you to clear the screen, COPY the current
screen to the printer, return to the main
menu, or return to terminal mode. Also,
modem commands allow you to dial out, dis-
connect for human communication, start
modem carrier tones, and hang up.

The modem also auto-answers so you can
set the system up and leave, and anyone
who calls up can leave a message on your
screen. Stuart also told me that new soft-
ware will be coming out soon which would

allow uploading and downloading of pro-
jrans and possibly 64 characters per line!

— Joe Williamson
June 1984

FAR SIDE OF SATURN

I was trying assorted plots with my
2068 when I noticed that one of them look-
ed like part of the rings of Saturn. At
that moment I ttought, "Why not write a
program that draws Saturn?" After a little
playing around, I decided it needed to
have Cassini's division. A solid ring did
not look like the Voyager photos, so Z$
was needed. Z$ instructs the program what
to plot and what to leave blank. The print
statement keeps stars from showing under
the planet and shadow the rings to give a
view that can't be seen from Earth. To get
the printer copy to show black sky, the
screen had to be filled up and then the
INVERSE command was used.

Run the program and press any key when
you have enough stars. Saturn will then be
drawn. Impress your friends with the
graphics on your 2068; run Saturn!

— John Monkus
June 1984

10 REM SATURN
£0 REM by John L. Monkus
£000 REM 2 - tars

2180 RARER 7: BRIGHT 0 BORDER “

: INVERSE 1: CLS

2200

• : <

FOR 1=0 TO

21: PRINT

I, 0

i : .

NEXT I

2210

LET a =INT

( R N D * 1 7 5 5

LET b=INT

(RND*255)

2230

INVERSE 1:

PLOT b,3

2240

IF IN KEY $=

THEN GO

iii

5000

REM Saturn

5100

INVERSE 1:

INK 9

6150

LET Z5="

100100

1000001010100100100100100010001"
6200 PRINT AT 7,14.;“ " AT 5,

13;" " ; AT 2,13.;“ “ .; AT

10,13;" " ; AT 11,13;“

.; AT 12,15;“

6205 FOR Z=10 TO 40
5210 FOR X =40 TO 34
5220 FOR Y =0 TO 5

5240 IF Z 5 ( 50 -Z ) = " 1 " THEN PLOT X
+Y * Y - Z + X , Y + 100

5242 IF Z$ <Z) =" 1" THEN PLOT X-Y*

Y-Z+X+145 , Y+100

6250 NEXT Y

5250 NEXT Z

5255 FOR Z=0 TO 30

5258 IF Z$ CZ + 10) =“ 1" THEN PLOT 4
0+Z , 99

6259 IF Z$ (50-Z-10) ="1” THEN PLO

T 137+Z , 99

5270 NEXT Z

6290 FOR Z=10 TO 40

5300 FOR X =40 TO 34

5310 FOR Y*0 TO 8

5320 IF Z$!:Z)="1“ THEN PLOT 147-
( X - Y *Y - Z + X ) , Y-98

5340 IF Z$ (58-Z) =" 1“ THEN PLOT >

X +Y *Y - Z + X ) , Y - 9 3

5350 NEXT Y

5352 NEXT Z

5350 PRINT AT 3,13;"

5355 FOR Z=0 TO 3
5370 PLOT 127 +Z , 75
5380 DRAW 0,4 8, PI
5332 NEXT Z

6390 PRINT AT 9,5;" “ ; AT 10,

!=, ; "

6500 BORDER 7: INVERSE 0

2998 STOP

9999 INK 9; PAPER 0: PRINT AT 20

,0; : SAVE "SATURN" LINE 200

Word Processing for the 2068
— Tasword II —

I work every day with both word
processors and computers. As a
result I have pretty high expecta-
tions about what both should be
able to do. Frankly, until now I
have been disappointed with what
has been available for the TS2068.

What is a "word processor" all
about anyway? A word processing
program should allow your computer,
when equipped with a suitable
printer, to offer the best
features of a typewriter combined
with the ability to modify, change,
save, reprint, and otherwise work
with the letter, report, or docu-
ment you are producing. To me, such
a program should require little or
no programming knowledge and should
be easy to learn and use without a
constant reference to the manual.

Enter TASWORD TWO. This is a
program originally available on the
Spectrum and recently adapted for
the TS2068. Produced by Tasman
Software it is available in the
U.S. from Ramex and Phoenix
(addresses at end of article) for
$49.95. Although this is double the
price of the English version, I do
believe its utility makes it worth
even that price.

Tasword comes in a black plastic
case about 6x9 inches with a 20
page manual. It loads easily in
about a minute and signals its be-
ginning with a beeping tone. The
user is immediately presented with
an empty screen with a small blink-
ing cursor in the upper left corner
and a single row informing of the
current parameters across the
bottom. Displayed are the line and
column the cursor is on, whether or
not right hand justification is on,
and a friendly reminder that
pushing "Edit" (shifted 1) brings
you onscreen help.

Instead of immediately beginning
you can proceed to the TUTOR file
which follows the main program on
the tape. This easy to use and in-

formative section leads you through
the whole program by have you do as
you read. Do this first and then
read the manual; it will make a lot
more sense if you do.

One thing you notice immediately
in the Tutor section or on the
screen should you go immediately to
word processing is 64 CHARACTERS
PER LINE ON THE SCREEN I Tasman has
accomplished this by redefining the
entire character set using a 3 x 7
matrix for each character instead
of the usual 7x7. The result is
very effective though 'm' and 'w'
are a little hard to read. As a
result of the 64 column lines, what
you see on screen is more nearly
what you will get on your printer
plus it WORKS JUST FINE ON YOUR TV
since no more resolution is used
than in the 32 column mode. Great
job, Tasman!

The program is FAST and EASY.
All the usual functions are there
-automatic justification, block
move and delete functions, auto-
matic centering. Control codes can
be placed in the text to obtain the
special features your printer might
offer. Since the TS2068 has no
special function keys like some
machines, various commands are
given in the program by using black
symbol shift functions (like "at"
and "step") and the extended mode
(cap shift + symbol shift) and
various keys. It is very nifty and
sensible so easy to remember.

I run my Tasword with the Tasman
parallel interface, though several
others made in Europe are also list
ed in the manual which work with
it. Phoenix is also supposed to
have one that works. I have also
been able to use it with the Aerco
interface — see the accompanying
article for more information.

All is not roses unfortunately.
The program does have its limits.
There is no paging ability. Refor-
matting is very limited, especially

Spectrum Emulator

One of the biggest drawbacks of the
2068 is the selection of software
available for it. Timex pulled out
a bit too soon before a good
selection of software became
available. With the project I
describe here. You can run many
Spectrum (48K) programs on your
2068 (ones that normally don't run
on your 2068) !

>>WARNINGS<< Do not attempt to make
this your first project. It
requires going inside the machine
and removing an IC chip and
replacing it with the board
described here. Also remember that
going into your machine probably
will void your warranty.

Basically, what we're doing is
replacing the 2068 ROM with the
Spectrum ROM, which is all that you
would have to do if you don't want
to change between the two operating
systems very often. The board that
I describe here switches between
the two ROMs so that you have
immediate access to both operating
systems at a flick of a switch.

The circuit board and schematic
along with the pictures show the
board, where it goes and how to
make the necessary connections. Pin
27 is the chip select for the NEC

Before. ..

ROM used by Timex and later model
Spectrums. An earlier Hitachi Rom
was used in the Spectrum and both
machines allow the use of either
ROM (the NEC and Hitachi ROMs have
their pin 27 and pin 20 reversed) .
I take into account only the NEC
ROM which should be the only one
found in current 2068 's and what is
presently available for the
Spectrum. The way you can tell is
by the wire links used to the left
of the Timex ROM (U16) . The NEC ROM
uses W1 & W2 shorted, and the
Hitachi ROM uses W3 & W4 shorted.
The ROMs are wired in parallel
except for pin 27, which is wired
as shown in the schematic. ROMCS
(active low) comes from the ULA
chip and selects the ROM when
needed by going to a low state
(0V) . The switch selects the
desired ROM by connecting ROMCS to
that chip. The resistors, R, pull
the unused ROM up to a high state
(5V) so that it will remain
inactive. Although probably not
needed, C takes care of any
transients (I feel better with it
there). I used 10K ohm resistors,
but anything from 4.7K to 10K can
be used. Capacitor C can be 0.1 uF
to about 4.7 uF, preferably
tantalum.

. . .and After Installation

Care must be taken when removing
the chips and inserting them. The
pins bend very easily and the chips
are very static sensitive. One of
the chips (I chose the 2068 ROM)
needs to be mounted from the foil
side and soldered in place. The
other chip can be socketed. Room
prevents the foil side ROM from
being socketed.

Making the board can most easily
be accomplished by taking the
layout given here and having it
copied onto clear acetate and then
using a photo sensitive PC board
(available at your local
electronics shop) , expose with your
clear acetate copy and develop and
etch following the instructions
given with the process. All parts
should be readily available.

BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING, UNPLUG
AND DISCONNECT EVERYTHING FROM THE
COMPUTER.

To assemble the board, first
remove the seven screws securing
the bottom of the computer and

af ROM l

eficcKrt- ftOMCS

of fto/n i

*5V

Tell A

Y ,OK .

* 10K

r-^=Z 'WV

[ R

.*r?

6 .)

/•r

carefully lift the top up till you
see the keyboard connector, then
carefully pull out the flatlead
wire from the socket on the board.
Now remove the Timex ROM, marked
U16, (be carefull not to bend any
of the leads) and place it in a
piece of static foam.

From the picture, you can see
that pins are required to stick
down from the foil side to slide
into the socket present on the 2068
circuit board. I used a three level
28 pin wire wrap socket and stuck
it through the board about 1/4" and
soldered them in place before
clipping the leads from the top.

through the center set of 28 pin
holes. Next, install a 28 pin LP
socket into the holes just offset
to the right of the pins mounted
before. Now stick the protruding
pins into a piece of anti-static
foam and mount the Timex ROM into
the remaining holes taking care to
allign pin 1 with the hole marked
pin 1. Solder the resistors and
capacitor in place and run three
wires to a SPDT switch with the
ROMCS wire going to the common of
the switch and the CS1 & CS2 wires
going to the outer tabs of the
switch. I mounted the switch in the
rear of the computer and physically
set it so that the up position is
for the Timex ROM. Check to make
absolutely certain that there are
not any solder bridges between any
of the traces on the board.

Once you are sure that
everything is OK, remove the
anti-static foam from the pins and
insert into the ROM socket on the
2068 board taking care to align pin
1 in the proper place (facing from
the front of the computer, pin 1
will be left rear of the socket.
The chip facing down will be to the
left, as in the picture. Insert
your new ROM into the socket of the

Spectremulator with pin 1 in the
same position as just mentioned.
Mount the switch in a convenient
place. Be carefull drilling into
the case. For the top to sit down
evenly again, a plastic tab that
hangs down from under the keyboard
must be clipped back about
1/8-1/4" .

Before re-assembling the
computer, go ahead and connect the
power and monitor and turn it on.
In the Timex ROM position, the
familiar copyrights show up as
usual. Allways turn off the
computer before switching the ROM
switch. Now try it in the Spectrum
ROM position. Only the Sinclair
copyright should show up! If one or
both positions produce nothing but
a crash, turn off the computer and
examine your board more closely for
shorts or breaks in the traces.
Once you have it working properly,

reassemble the computer taking care
to gently re-insert the keyboard
connector .

Once you are in the Spectrum
mode. You will notice some
differences in the operating
system. FREE has been changed to:
~, STICK is now: |, ON ERR gives
only: £, SOUND gives only: ), RESET
gives only: @, and the word DELETE
no longer appears. (Several of
these characters do not print on
our daisywheel printer.) Also the
annoying stop-before- delete at
every semicolon and line number is
gone. Even though these commands
are gone, they can still be used or
made using IN & OUT and short
routines. The joysticks still work
with programs like Flight Simulator
and Cyberzone while in the Spectrum
mode. Sound can also be made using
OUT and POKE (more on this next
month) . The command cartridge port
does not work when in the Spectrum
mode either. Otherwise, everything
works exactly the same.

Things that do work include the
2040 printer and the 2050 modem. As
far as software for the Spectrum is
concerned, we have tried about
seven that don't work on the 2068
but do work fine with the 2068 with
the Spectrum ROM inside. They
include all the software from
Tasman (Tasword Two, Tasprint, &
Taswide) , Microprint 85 (you must
CLEAR 65535 before loading) Pengy,
Pool, and Cascade (contains 50
programs-some of these do run on
the 2068) . We have not found any
that don't work yet. Just make sure
that the software is for a 48K
Spectrum. We will continue to order
(and rent) software from Europe and
keep you informed as to what we
have found to work and is worth
having. The Spectrum ROM is
available from FOOTE SOFTWARE (see
ad this issue) for $20. For
software, check any British
computer magazine you can get. They
generally all list some titles.

With this addition to the 2068,
you can open up a whole new avenue
of support for your computer. With
this we hope to be able to

Spectremulator Board — Spectrum Rom Is on the left
and 2068 Rom below and on the right.

determine which peripherals for the
Spectrum will operate on our 2068s
including the microdrives now
available in England!

— Joe williamson

Software Review

Jack Deuber has 10 programs out for
the 2068 and has done a fine job on
GOLD!. All in Basic, but fast. Good
use of user defined hi-res
characters .

You start out with five miners
at the top of the screen near the
assay office. Below is the ground
as an all black screen with veins
of gold here and there. To get to
the veins of gold, you must blast
away the dirt. Be careful, because
after each blast, the dirt settles
and it could fall on you and kill
you. You get 10 blasts, after which
you take all the gold you have
collected to the assay office to
collect your money. You need to
maximize your collection of gold to
win the game, so you must think
about each blast as to how much
gold you can get to.

All in all GOLD! is a fun game
which will amuse you for hours. The
program makes good use of sound,
and the joystick makes it easy to
use. A good deal for $8.00. Jack
Deuber Software, PO Box 305,
Casselberry, FL 32707.

— Joe williamson

Expanding UDG’s

Have you thought that when you
wanted to print a pattern using user
defined graphics on the screen that
you were limited to placing that
pattern on the screen in multiples
of the pixel dimensions (8x8) of the
character? True in the horizontal,
but in the vertical dimension, the
tyranny of the character can be
overcome as illustrated by this
little program called "EXP II".

EXP II pokes the value of the UDG
start address for the user defined
graphics table. The program scrolls
the pixel patterns of the USR
graphics. By printing characters
that are next to each other in the
character set on top of each other
on the screen, the graphic character
changes position a pixel at a time.
This allows smoother movement of
graphics on the screen.

The graphic character can be any
number of characters high. For a
pattern that is more than one
character in width, a buffer or
blank character is placed between
the series of characters that are
printed on top of each other. Notice
the setup of the characters in EXP
II. The small duplicate listing is
to show which UDG characters are
used in the print statements. This
was made by listing line 8200 and
then in direct mode, print to the
screen and then COPY.

I hope that you find EXP's
principle useful in developing your
own moving graphics programs. This
one had me scratching my head for
days, but every time I thought about
it, it became more beautiful.

One other thing this opens up is
that you can also have more than one
user defined character set. The
UDG 1 s initialize at memory location
65368 and occupy 168 bytes (21x8).
Another set could be stored 168
bytes below this starting at 65201.
These starting addresses are stored
at 23675 and 23676. Initially 23675
holds 88 and 23676 holds 255 (255*
256+88=65368) for starting address

65201, POKE 23675 with 177 and 23676
with 254 (254*256+177=65201). To
utilize this, all you have to do is
keep track of which UDG set you are
working with when defining the sets
and when you print them. You can
make as many UDG sets as you have
memory for.

— John Monkus

<3400 > KK INT H ! 6 , 1& i OUtH 1 I H. L -' 'j 1

RT 7 , 16; "BEH" IF Y <§5359 THEN
HR I NT H ! 6 , 19.; uUER 1; "0" ST 7 ■. 1

S, " K “

■5210 IF Y < 5 5 3 5 S S N D Y > 5 5 3 3 5 THE N
PRINT ST 3,16.: ODER 1.; "CFI"

8220 IF Y ■: 6 5 3 5 6 S N D Y > 6 5 3 3 5 THE N
PRINT ST 8,19; ODER 1; "L"

8230 RETURN

These lines are to be entered first since they identity which
characters are UDGs In their graphics mode.

10 REM EXP II

990 SEEP .25,15
QQQ :=,Tnp
8000 CL 5

3010 L •=. i X =0 : L c i Y = 5 5 3 6 8 + X : i

SUB 9550: GO SUB 3200

8040 PRINT ST 6,14; OVER 1 ; " jfT **
; ST 7.14; " "

8050 IF INKEY $ a" D" THEN GO SUB 3
400 Lfc i X = — 1 : Lr L' o U B 9 5 0 : G 0 3
UB 5200

8 0 7 0 IF I N K EY $ = ; ' U " T H n. N G 0 5 U B 8
400: !_ £ • X a 1 ; ; _r 0 Z U D '4 5 5 0 : G 0 3 U

ts 54 00

8080 IF INKEY $=“9" THEN GO TO 99
8

3090 PRINT ST 20.6;" C"' : \ y

; P T 21, 6 " PBCDEFGH IJK.L

MNOPQRSTU"

5100 GO TO 5050

5200 PRINT P T 5 .• 16 ' OUER 1 ; ,s ::
PI 7 : 15; " " : IF Y < 55359 THEN

PRINT PT 5,19; OUER 1; " :l ; PT 7 .1

5210 IF
PRINT PI

: 55355 PND N
5,15; OUER

“HEN

5220

JL !“ Y

•; 5 •“ 3 5 6 S N D Y > 5 5 3 3 5 r H E N

PRI!

NT PT

3,19.; OVER 1; ”h"

8230

RETU

F Q Q

STOP

9000

POKE

5"; F. ==:;=; . ;=;

Kiz’r'T u R in

9010

FOR

J = 1 4 4 TO

X R 4 : ^ UK X — 0 T

n y •

REP D

0: POKE

USR CHR $ J + I,C

he:

XT I:

NEXT J

9015

DPT P

0 ,0,0 , 0

t 1 : 2 J 4 , F

9020

DPT P

5 , 12 , 10

i 9 • 4 : 2 1 , 0

y 0 ci 4

L ; ‘ P ! H

0 , 0,0, 0

: 0:0, 0 , 0

y025

L ;s P ! P

0 , 0 , 0 , 5

IN 0011110.0 , BIN

110:

00011

,0.0.0

9030

DP i P

0 0 © , b

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DPT P

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9 0 3 5

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'=• 0 : r> L : ‘ HT H 0 0 0 , 0 . 0 : 0 : 0 : 0
9040 DPT P 0:0,0 , 0 ,0,0,0 ‘ 0
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94-95 GO TO 5000

9500 PRINT PEEK 23675+256*PEEK £
3575

9550 STOP

9550 LET Y = Y + X : POKE 23675, Y-255

* I NT (Y/256) : POKE 23675, I NT (Y/
255 )

9570 RETURN
9995 STOP

9999 SRUE “EXP 11“ LINE 9000: UE

RIFY “EXP 11“

/ \ Y LHINUrWKO I U

RBCDEF G H I J K L M NOPGRSTU

This should appear on your screen when the program begins to run.
This also allows you to see that, when entering the program, Graphic
A/Graphlc D/Graphic G yields the little design reproduced on line
8040 of the program.

Horace ... At Last!

A common complaint in the microcom-
puter field is that those who make
the hardware don't know how to write
the software. This adage has largely
been confirmed by Timex, whose
software for the 1000/1500 series
seldom came up to the same quality
level as packages from independent
suppliers. This same problem has
also been evident with the 2068
software .

But at last I have gotten my
hands on three programs that really
can make you glad you left your
Atari 2600 behind. They are the
"Horace" games Timex made available
for the 2068 shortly before they
left the market but which many
dealers never stocked. I was able to
purchase mine from Games To Learn By
(address at end of article) at very
reasonable prices.

Horace, long popular with Spec-
trum owners in England, is almost
unknown here. Horace somewhat
resembles one of the ghosts in the
Pac-Man game with legs. But the
programmers have done far more with
him than the ghosts have ever done.

HUNGRY HORACE apparently is the
oldest of the three games and is the
simplest. It operates much like Pac-
Man but has more challenge than the
other 2068 maze type games I've

seen. It's entertaining but is not
my favorite. However, my 3 children
(ages 13, 11, & 9) play it the most.

HORACE GOES SKIING opens with a
screen in which Horace must cross an
8 lane busy freeway to rent his skis
and then return. This is similar to
part of the popular Frogger arcade
game. After procuring his skis, he
begins to ski, avoiding trees which
will break his skis (requiring an-
other trip across the freeway) and
trying to slalom back and forth
through the flags to score points.

^•5-IOM COI-IPUTEPf * COMPUTER' P

i* : s* :

’-1 ELB O F* M e MO C.I =• e I1EL St- OURHE HO * E?

If he can pass under the finish
banner at the bottom he scores addi-
tional points. Finishing one slope
means crossing the freeway again to
get to the next slope. This is my
favorite. The sound, movement,
graphics detail and sheer challenge
are great. I brought this one along
to our last users group meeting and
everyone was taken with it!

HORACE AND THE SPIDERS is the
most complicated and most challeng-
ing. Three screens are presented. In
the first Horace must cross a large
open space while jumping over a
spider and then climbing a small
hill. This immediately switches
Horace to a scene in which he must
cross a canyon by swinging from one
spider web rope to another while the
spiders overhead are busily pulling
the ropes up (here's where I fail).
Crossing the canyon he enters a
black forest with spiders and webs
everywhere. Horace is to set about
stomping holes in the webs and then
pouncing on the spiders which come
to repair them. They are destroyed
if he can step on them and make them
fall through the holes to the ground
below. Since I have never gotten
past this part, I'm not sure what
comes next. Again, great graphics

and sound with a refreshing change
in theme from the Pac-Man and Space
Invaders fare.

Though I primarily use my 2068
for its educational value and for
word processing, Horace does have
his place at my home. Buy at least
one and see if you don't agree.

— Richard Cravy

Newsletter Changes

Our Timex Sinclair Users Group
began here in Gainesville in
September 1982. The newsletter
started out as postcards sent out
to a handful of people telling them
when the next meeting would be. It
slowly grew to a one page, then a
two page, and finally to a long
time standard of a four page
newsletter, with the last one being
a six page one.

Back in March when Timex quit,
it looked uncertain as to the
future of our computers, user's
group and the newsletter. It
appeared as if everything was going
to dry up. The last few months have
shown a dramatic turnaround in user
awareness and an increase in
members of our user's group here.

Just in the past month we have
received more inquires about our
group and newsletter than we have
in the past two years 1 For the last
newsletter, we sent more out of
town and state than locally.

With this in mind, Richard Cravy
and I have decided to change the
newsletter into a magazine type of
format with a regular s lbscription
rate of $12 per year, and a trial
subscription of $6 per half-year.
Current members of TUG will receive
the magazine as they always - have.
(More details at next meeting.)
Single issue price will be $1.50
and available only at Skipper
Electronics for now. SUM is no
longer associated with Skipper
Electronics, other than being sold
there .

Pokes for Aerco-Tasword

In running my Tasword Two word pro-
cessor, I was frustrated that I was
not able to use my Aerco centronics
parallel interface with it. None of
the modifications used with various
other interfaces listed in the Tas-
word manual worked with the Aerco.
Finally, I got desparate — I called
Aerco in Austin, Texas. THEY HAD
THE INFORMATION I NEEDED.

To run Tasword with the Aerco,
first load the Aerco software then
the Tasword Two program. Once into
Tasword Two, get into basic by
holding down on the 'symbol shift'
then pushing 'STOP'. This will give
you a menu, one item of which is to
go into basic. Follow the direct-
ions given on the screen.

Once in basic enter the follow-
ing Pokes with no line numbers be-
fore them and pushing enter after
each one.

POKE 57999,127
POKE 58001,103
POKE 58008,127
POKE 58014,219
POKE 58015,127

Now push RUN to return to Tasword.
Your Aerco interface should now
print out your files as the program
calls for it to.

AERCO, Box 18093, Austin, TX 78760;
512/331-0719. Interface sells for
$69.95 and includes the software to
drive it.

— Richard Cravy

* *

* You know we live in a meche- *

* nized society when you pick *

* up your calculator and try to *

* change the channel on your TV *

* *
***********************************

Spectrum Emulator Revisited

In last month's article, we in-
advertently left out the printed
circuit board layout, so here it is
this month with our apologies. Also
I have drawn a side view showing how
the chips sit on the board.

When installing the chips, always
use great care in positioning the
chips in the sockets. Generally, the
width between the two rows of pins
are wider than the socket spacing.
To narrow the spacing, hold the chip
with both hands, fingers holding top
and bottom and press one of the rows
of pins on their side onto a hard
surface with the pins still in the
protective foam. Carefully bend in
both sides slightly until the chip
is easier to fit into the socket.
The outward bend of the pins help
"force" a good connection to the
socket, so don't over do it.

The foam is there to protect the
chip from static discharges. Keep
the chip in the foam as long as
possible. Remember, the drier your
climate, the more chance you have of

♦

Capao+e>r
^ Veil, tor

Ti«*a.k R.0li

ROM

Jack«.+

re*’it-tor

p l s/g i «-.+0 C>rig 1 A»(

Front view of completed circuit board with both ROMS mounted.

T.r-V*
ft©** 1

'fir#**

CS I R

t* f'.* n
of *o/n l

>5V

IOK

cTi

IOK

-Vs/V —
R

0.1

Schematic of Spectrum Emulator

static damage. Don't forget to pro-
tect the chips you take out such as
the 2068 ROM. Your best bet is to
stick it in the other side of the

foam your new ROM is in. Also
remember that in any work you do
with any of your computers, you are
working with static sensitive com-
ponents; so be careful.

Printed circuit layout for Spectrum Emulator.

Sometimes the Spectrum ROM has a
hard time initializing. You can tell
from the start if it will or won't.
If the screen BORDER initializes
white then no problem should occur.
If the BORDER initializes black, go
ahead and turn off the computer and
try again. For me, it has trouble
initializing about 20% of the time!.

— Joe Wi. ]. ] iamson

FLASH !

POKES FOR SPECTRUM ROM
TASWORD WITH AERCO

First load Tasword II program. Get
into BASIC by holding down on the
'symbol shift' key and pressing
STOP. Select Basic -from the menu
then type in the -following pokes
without line numbers, ’ pressing
enter after each line.

POKE 57999,127
POKE 58004,98
POKE 58008,127

Also, these pokes are for the early
version of Tasword written for
their interface "A" type. The type
"B" interface is presently being
sold here, as well as in England.
If you need to use the "A" version
with the "B" type of interface,
break into basic, POKE 57999,191
and save this version for future
use .

Now return to Tasword II with RUN
and ENTER. Save your new version of
Tasword II as offered by the same
menu which got you into Basic.

ZX/TS Repair Guide — Part I

This begins a series of articles
on how to repair the problems that
spring up with your ZX81 and TS1000.
Sending off to have your computer,
repaired can cost as much as — if not
more than — the original cost of the
computer. The majority of the pro-
blems can be fixed by the average
owner .

The first problem that I will
cover is LOADing and SAVEing. If the
computer works otherwise, 99% of
LOADing/ SAVEing problems lie in the
cassette recorder you are using. The
ZX/TS machines have one of the
poorest (and slowest) ways of load-
ing a program. You have no idea
whether the program is actually
loading or just passing what it
thinks is garbage.

Most problems are caused by not
having the proper volume setting
while loading. One of the best ways
of telling whether the program is
loading or not is by watching the TV
screen. The proper volume setting
can be determined by watching the
black and white lines on the screen
during the more "steady scenes". The

black lines should be

slightly

thicker than the

white

lines

between. On some

sets

with

bad

linearity,

the lines

may

appear

get thinner

towards

the

bottom

the screen

(the display

appears

be smaller

towards

the

bottom

well) . On these sets, try to watch
the top few lines to make the black
lines thicker than the white ones.
That should give you proper volume
for loading (typically around 3/4 of
maximum volume) .

Left screen shows volume too low; right screen shows correct volume.

The type of recorder is very im-
portant. Use only a standard type
monaural recorder. Don't use stereo
portables, home type units or micro-
cassettes, they probably will not
work. Your best bet is to use a good
quality desk-top recorder which in-
cludes a tone control, tape counter,
and its own power supply (generally
in the $35 to $50 range) . We have
found that Panasonic recorders work
with good results. Timex's works
well and now Sears has a model out
that looks identical to the Timex
2020 recorder.

Don't use a recorder from the
closet that has been sitting
collecting dust — it probably won't
work. Have the recorder cleaned and
belts replaced first before trying
it. After sitting so long, the belts
develop flat spots and cause an
uneven speed, and dust can gum up
the mechanism and cause the machine
to eat your new tape. A recorder in
good condition is a must.

Tone is another important factor
to consider. If you have a tone
control, be sure and place it in
the highest position possible.

If after trying all this and it
still won't load, disconnect the
earphone jack and turn the volume
down to a tolerable level and listen
to a pre-recorded professional
program. If it sounds dull and
muffled, the head azimuth may be off
or the heads dirty. Head azimuth is
the angle of the tape data track
with respect to the pickup on the
head (should be parallel: zero
degrees). For dirty heads, take
cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol and
gently clean the heads so that they
appear shiney. If the heads are not
dirty, the head azimuth should be
adjusted .

A lot of tape recorders have a
small hole right above the audio
head (front center of cassette bas-
ket) which reveals a screw while in
the play position. Play the tape and
use a jeweler's screwdriver to turn
the screw. You should hear the
"muffledness" change. Adjust for the
most "shrill" sound possible

(produces the most highs) . If you
don't have a head azimuth adjust
hole, take it to a service center
and have it done.

You should be able to now load
without any problems. If not, play a
tape and see if you hear any
wavering or a stop and go type of
sound. If you do, have it serviced,
or buy another recorder (the motor
may be going). If it sounds fine,
then check all your connections, try
another tape, have only the ear plug
connected for loading and the mic
plug connected for saving (remember,
its ear to ear and mic to mic) . If
problems still persist, try another
recorder on your computer or your
recorder on another computer and
ascertain which is the problem.

Once you have the loading of a
prerecorded tape down, saving should
also work. After you save a program,
play it back with the mic plug out
and make sure that something went
onto the tape. If not, check your
connections, and/or try another

recorder. If playback of a pre-
recorded tape is fine but playback
of your recorded tape is muffled,
have the heads de-magnetized and
cleaned .

Everything in this particular
article also pertains to the 2068.
Although loading problems do not
occur as frequently, they still do
occur with the color computer. Head
azimuth is a little more critical
due to the faster transfer of data.
Tapes come to you with varying
levels of quality and may have been
recorded on a recorder with head
azimuth slightly different than
yours. Some hard to load tapes can
be loaded by aljusting the head
azimuth slightly.

— BUGABOO —

BUGABOO is an arcade quality game
for the TS2068 which has been con-
rted from the Spectrum. It is, or
s, one of the most computer games
m England and is sold in the USA
by Quicksilva for both the 2068 and
the Commodore 64.

Bugaboo, we are informed, is a
flea who falls down a hole into the
depths of the earth. He is limited
in his movements to diagonal left
and right moves — which are pro-
duced by the "1" and "0" keys. The
screen can be scrolled using the
arrow keys . Bugaboo moves about in
a three screen wide by three screen
high chamber filled with ledges,
cliffs, plants and spiders. And
let's not forget the Pterodactyl --
the flying miniature dinosaur who
suddenly swoops in & grabs Bugaboo
to end the game unless our little
lost flea can quickly hide under a
ledge out of reach.

Upon loading, the game waits
about 15 seconds for instructions;
if none are given, a demo begins
showing Bugaboo jumping about on
the surface of the planet and then
falling into the depths below. No
scoring as such occurs — the goal
being to escape. However, a timer
is constantly running at the bottom
of the screen as well as a "level
indicator". The bottom of the hole
is level 82, the surface 1. Bugaboo
reaches the surface by jumping from
ledge to ledge. This can be frus-
trating since missing a single
ledge may well land you back on the
bottom (remember the Pterodactyl).

The coxor and action is very
good, and the game is almost as
addictive for me as Pacman. With
games like this, it is no wonder
the Spectrum has been such a favor-
ite in England. The 2068 version
retails for $24.95 and the Spectrum
version sells for $19.95 (we assume
it will run on a 2068 with Spectrum
rom) . Quicksilva, Inc., 426 West
Nakoma, San Antonio, TX 78216. Tell
them you saw it in S.U.M.

— Richard Cravy

Word Processing

— VIEWord —

VIEWord is the first in a series of
software packages for the TS2068
being produced by Jim Clatfelter.
It is to be followed by MAIList and
BOOKeep. Considering the quality
and simplicity of VIEWord, I am
looking forward to these other two.

Considering the 32 character
screen line that the 2068 provides,
various word processors for this
computer have taken different means
to compensate. Tasword Two (SUM
8/84) redefines the character set
so that 64 characters are visible
on screen per line. M-Script (to be
reviewed next month) uses the ultra
hi-res graphics of the 2068 to give
a real 64 character line. Another
possibility is to incorporate a
horizontal scroll which shows only
32 characters at a time but allows
lines longer than 32; the screen
then serves as a window on the text
(as made popular on the Osborne

computer) . This last method is also
an option on Tasword Two. However,
VIEWord uses none of these more
sophisticated methods. Instead it
begins by asking how long a line
you wish to print out on your
printer (32-64 characters) . Then,
as you enter your text, a tone
begins to sound as you approach
your right margin and no more en-
tries are allowed once your line
length is reached. Pressing ENTER
moves you to the next printer line.
A blank line is placed on screen
between each line to be sent to the
printer.

Each printer line is numbered as
text is entered to it. Any editing
requires specifying which line #
you want to edit. This differs from
others which allow "full-screen"
editing, but probably makes little
difference in editing once you get
use to either system. Something
more critical is compensating for
deletions or additions to a line.
Words are not automatically moved
down or brought up from following

lines to compensate for changes
made on a given line. But the two
editing functions, WRAP and SPLIT,
allow accomplishing this manually.

Commands are all single charac-
ter entries with logical symbols —
i.e., ' i ' for insert, 'm' for menu,
etc. All commands are entered at
the beginning of a new line. In
addition, a wide variety of printer
control codes may be entered in the
text to allow full use of your dot
matrix or other printer.

Probably the real strength of
VIEWord is in printer control. Auto
numbering of pages, # of lines per
page, single or double spacing, and
such is all very easily done.

Here are the "negatives" I see
with VIEWord. The screen display
method only allows a small amount
of your text to be visible at once.
Right justification is not allowed
for (though manually adding spaces
within a line would accomplish it) .
Adding or deleting text is easy,
but compensating for the resulting
longer or shorter lines is a little
tedious using WRAP and SPLIT. Lines
longer than 64 characters are not
permitted.

VIEWord 's strengths are many. It
is very easy to learn to use and
the one key commands quickly learn-
ed. For those who have never used a
word processor before, the 32 char-
acter line and line oriented edit-
ing will probably be no problem.
The program has the Aerco interface
software built in, and also allows
output to the TS2040 printer. And
the fact that two other packages
will soon be introduced in this
family using the same command
structure will mean i lot to those
who will use all three in a small
business or for personal use. The
documentation is not extensive (7
pages) but is clear and answers
most questions. Lastly, the price
is $25 — half or less of that of
Tasword Two and M-Script.

For someone who wants a simple
but versatile word processor, this
may be the one for you. VIEWord is
available from the author for $25
postpaid: JIM CLATFELTER, 646 Cor-
win Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206.

— Richard Cravy

Modem Tips

"TS 2050 Modem links you with a
new world of opportunities" as an
ad for Timex once stated, and its
true! The Westridge 2050 Modem does
link you with up to the minute in-
formation from just about every-
where. I know I get mesmerized
staring at the screen communicating
with a BBS or mainframe somewhere
while my long distance phone bill
creeps up at an alarming rate. Who
says "long distance is cheaper than
you think" anyway?? They obviously
don't own a computer with modem.

Fortunately most of the work I
do is local anyway, and The Source
and CompuServe both have local
numbers in larger cities - be sure

FOOTE

SOFTWARE

NEW! Badgammon 2068— Full color and sound
version of the popular Backgammon game— *19.95

2068' 1000/1500

U.S.A. (Presidents/

States & Capitols *15.95 . . *11.95

Calorie Counter 16.95 . . .12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) 14.95 9.95

Fun & Games

(Tic-Tac-Toe & Hangman) 7.95

•NOTE: 2068 versions contain full color and sound.

SPECTRUM ROM *20.00

SPECIAL FOR ONE YEAR SUBSCRIBERS TO
S.U.M. — SPECTRUM ROM — ONLY *18.00

The Spectrum ROM allows your TS2068 to run
Spectrum software. Just swap out ROMs or build
the “Spectremulator'’ described in the August &
September issues of S.U.M. Magazine.

Add *1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling.

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. O. Box 14655 / Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

Look for our products at Skipper Electronicsl

and check. If you have call wait-
ing, you need to get rid of it or
have another phone line installed.

When call waiting beeps on your
line while using the modem, you can
usually count on spurious char-
acters or a crash. If you get
locked up and have to turn off the
computer to restart. Many times,
depending on what type of system
you are talking to, the host
computer will not realize that you
have left and go on waiting for you
to send something. I have actually
been cut off and dialed the main-
frame back up and still be on line
and in my account! I would hate to
think what would have happened if
someone else had dialed up in that
time that I was off line.

The biggest problem that I have
is seeing graphs on my 32 column
display when the smallest display
being sent is 64 column. Hopefully
someone will come out with a modem
program supporting the 64 column
mode. I would even settle for 64
column printer output only.

Recently, while using a main-
frame at the University of Florida,
I discovered that there is no way
to use caps lock, and all that the
mainframe would accept is upper-
case. To complicate matters, the
system recognizes the 'break'
command as a user abort command.
So, while I type along on my 2068
holding the caps shift key down, I
must remember to let up on the caps
shift to space, otherwise I lose
what I was doing. This would not
occur on the 1000/1500 because they
send Caps only.

TIMEX /S INCLft IR ~ ~ SOFTWARE '

State Capital;
1000 Q 20SS L
World Capitals,
1000 □ 205i

U.S. Pres id|
1000 □

Solar Syj t!

B l a c k.

1000

One -firm Bandit
1 0/00 □ 2058 □

paradise Park
2058 □
pace Gunner

2068 □

$G0 Id*

000 □ 2065 □

Fleet 5 1 r a t e g y
1000 □ 2065 £j

SfiSE bring s rno re in f o . fill
P r o g r a ms c a s s e 1 1 e f o rma t ; $5

for one, $7 each additional.
UfiCK DEUBER PD 50X 305

CASSELBERRY , FL 32707

The modem really is a good addi-
tion to your computer, and it does
work well, and people are using it
and finding ways to get around some
of these quirks.

Users in the Timex Sinclair
Users Group of Cincinnati have
found a way to use a large printer
(must have bit-mapped graphics i.e.
Seikosha GP-100/Gorilla Banana,
Star Gemini lOx, STX-80) with the
2050 modem and the Aerco Interface.

The modem software makes a call
at 54025 and 54026 to copy the
screen to the Timex printer. The
copy routine in the Aerco software
resides at 64628. All that is
needed is to change the original
call for the copy routine to the
one in the Aerco interface.

First, load the Aerco printer
driver software and configure to
your printer. When the menu comes
up again, choose the load option
and load the basic part of the
modem software ONLY by pressing

DEDUCT 10% 0* PURCHASE
OF 2 OR MORE SOFTWARE
PACKAGES.

USER GROUP MEMBERS
DEDUCT 10%.

TS2068 SOFTWARE
:::::: ::::::::

The following programs all use a machine code generated
spreadsheet format that makes them fast and reliable.

It la suggested that a printer be uaea with the programs,
but one is not required. For complete details on these
programs please refer to the TS1000 section of this price

llBt.

TAX RETURN ORGANIZER 2000 120.00
CKECKREC 2000 t 12.00
STOCK WATCH 2000 112.00
ArFCINTHENT WATCH 2000 *12.00
ADDRESS BOOK 2000 S12.00
HOUSEHOLD INVENTORY 2000 512.00
TEXT'WHITER 2000 by R. Flngcrle 518.95

A high capacity full color word processing program for the
TS2G68 and TS2040 printer. It 16 similar in design to the
TEXTW.-ilTER 1000, which hoe received excellent reviews in
computer publications. The TW2000 includes all of the
featurer of tr.e TS2066 ; repeating keys, upper and lower case,
audible rrospts, fast text loading aru saving, and . text
capacity of 340 line. r about 450 - jrds.

TEXT* <1 TER 200 rL-0 524.95

A program similar to the TEXT’A'RITER 2000 program above,
but for use witn tr.e TS206c and the A..«C0 Centronics
interface.

THE iREAT IriAl HI US S :CA S24.95

This package -ntter. by J. R. Coffey contains six excellent
progra-.s that will show off your TS2068 computer. Programs
include: The Great ira.rr.ics Show, To.ch Type Learning
Package, Three jaxce Package, hi -Res Lander, 0scll liacope,
and Easy Editor. This packa -e j f rated 3 out of 4 by
the In angle Sinclair 'Jscr'c Group, 4/84 newsletter.

BLANK CASSETTES

===== =====3333

Computer quality C-20 length (10 minutes per side) with
plastic case and blank labels,

10 for *9.50 25 for *18.00

We pay postage.

4 BUTTERFLY DRIVE

HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK 11788

break as soon as the "Program
loading" appears on the screen and
stop the tape. Now enter CLEAR
54015 and LOAD "aterm"CODE and
restart the tape. Now add these
lines to the basic modem loader
program:

999 :

STOP

1000

POKE

54205,116

1010

POKE

54206,252

1020

POKE

64263,0

1030

POKE

64264,0

1040

POKE

64265,0

1050

RAND

USR 64628

1060

SAVE

"aterm" LINE

1070

SAVE

"aterm" CODE

54016,8000

1080

1190

SAVE

STOP

" PRCODE " CODE

64256,1111

After you have entered every-
thing, place a blank tape in your
tape recorder, set it to record and
enter GOTO 1000 and follow the
instructions at the bottom of the
screen (there will be three saves,
so don't wander off). You may want
to rewind the tape and verify.

To try it out, TURN ON YOUR
PRINTER FIRST - ALWAYS. Enter GOTO

10 to start the program and hit
enter for the initialization
header. Now press- shift and 8 to
get the lower screen menu and press
P for a screen copy. If you forget
to turn on your printer before you
press P, the program will lock up,
and you will have to turn off
the computer and reload and hope
that the host computer you were
talking to knows you are gone.

I found that you must remove the
case from around the modem
connector in order to plug in the
Aerco Interface (Its bigger than
the opening allows) . Due to the way
that the modem rear connector is
soldered, the Aerco Interface will
go on crooked. Make sure that _he
connector is on as far as it will
go and that nothing is shorting.

Thanks to the Timex Sinclair
Users Group of Cincinati for this
great tip. They can be reached at

11 Funston Lane; Cincinnati, Ohio
45218.

— Joe Williamson

ZX/T5 Repair Guide — Part II

This is the second in a series
of articles on how to repair your
ZX81 and TS1000. I will also try to
cover some of the problems found in
the 1500 and 2068 as well in future
articles .

From my experience with the ZX81
& TS1000, I would say that there
are four common problems with this
series. They are the infamous 'RAM
pack wobble 1 , keyboard ribbon cable
cracking, loose ground strap, and 5
volt regulator over heating and
failing. I have seen other problems
crop up, but these are by far the
most prevalent.

Probably the most aggravating
thing that can happen is to have a
real long program that you have
been writing for the last six hours
sitting there on the screen, you
reach down, press a button and the
computer goes wild, scrolling
unknown characters up the screen,
flashing and then finally , the
terrorizing blank screen. You have
gone beyond the realm of the com-
puter's comprehension and into the
twilight zonei In other words, the
computer lost connection with its
memory through a bad contact.

The problem stems from a design
flaw. The computer has rubber feet
on the bottom while the RAM pack
sits directly on the table top. You
press a key from the top, the

rubber feet give a little, the RAM
pack does not and the connector
between the two takes up the slack.
Connectors, when they slide against
each other have never been known to
maintain a good connection, es-
pecially if there is dust or any
other contaminant on the contacts.

There have been dozens of cures
for solving this problem, the best
that I have found are to clean the
rear edge connector, put larger
(taller) feet on the computer to
raise the RAM pack off the table,
and place a piece of velcro or
double sided tape between the RAM
pack and the rear of the computer.

When cleaning the rear edge
connector, make sure the computer
is turned off. Use cotton swabs and
denatured alcohol, clean both top
and bottom and dry off excess
alcohol with a dry cotton swab.
Also, try not to leave any cotton
hairs behind on the connector. It
is best not to try and clean the
RAM pack connector so as to not
damage any of the 'pins'.

If you have lost responce from
the computer when you press a key,
you more than likely have a cracked
ribbon cable. The most common keys
to lose are keys 1-5. The laminate
that the cable is made of becomes
dry and brittle and eventually
cracks. To repair this, you must go

inside the computer and repair the
break.

To disassemble the computer,
disconnct everything from it, turn
it over and remove the three rubber
feet that are not near a screw
hole. This should reveal five
screws . Remove screws and bottom
cover. You now should see the
bottom (foil) side of the computer.
Set the computer so that the power
and tape jacks are on the right and
unscrew the two small Phillips head
screws. Now carefully and slowly
lift up the board and rotate it
towards you to expose the top side
of the board and keyboard cable.
The cable is short so the side
closest to you will not come up
very far, so rotate so that this
side acts as the hinge.

Once you can get to the ribbon
cables, you will note that there
are actually two. Very carefully
pull these one at a time out of the
connectors on the board. The top
should now separate from the
circuit board.

The cracks should be very
apparent. Generally, the crack is
near the now loose end and can be
repaired by simply cutting off the
bad part with a pair of scissors.
If you will have to cut off more
than an inch, use copper or nickel
print instead. Most electronics
stores carry this for repairing
cracked circuit boards and it works
very well for repairing cracked
ribbon cables. It comes in a small
jar with an applicator brush in the
lid. It's like paint. Simply dab a
small amount across the crack in
the metal part of the cable taking
care not to let it spread and short
to an adjacent metal strip. This
stuff also works well repairing
your rear window defroster strips
in your car!

Once you have done the repair,
take some cellaphane tape and wrap
around the ribbon cable about 1/4"
from the end to help aid in re-
inserting the cables into their
connectors. Now position the board
so that you can grasp both sides of
the ribbon cable where the tape is
and slide back into their res-

pective connectors. Reassemble the
computer and check out.

The grounding strap on the foil
side of the computer comes loose
sometimes at the rear edge con-
nector end and causes problems with
interference on the screen and
loading. Simply solder it back in
place taking care not to let the
strap touch any other solder lands.

The 5 volt regulator is mounted
on a square flat piece of aluminum,
and to the circuit board. This can
sometimes overheat and cause the
computer to crash after 15-30 min-
utes of use. If the screw and nut
that holds this all together was
not tightened well at the factory,
tightening it may cure your pro-
blem, otherwise, replace it.

Sometimes, the power supply is
putting out to much for the
regulator to handle and replacing
it will help. I have found that the
Atari 2600 game replacement power
supply works fine as long as you
don't have any more than one or two

SPECTRUM ROM
5PECTRUM SOFTWARE

Considering interchanging vo-t T52068 ROM
with the Spectrum RO^ -

We carry ? ..entory of 48K

Spectrum t ^,v.ade, adventure, busi-

ness and uti cor the T52068/5pectrum.

Write for Information and software brochure to

E, McGHEE

Suite ISO, 10127 - 121 Street
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5F1 5X1

peripherals connected to the rear.
You will know when you have loaded
it down two much when thick bands
(hum bars) travel up the screen
when you turn it on.

The only thing left to go wrong
are the integrated circuit chips
(ICs) . With the computer opened up,
you can see four IC's (five in the
ZX81) . The only two chips that I
have seen go bad are the ULA and
the RAM IC. If the ULA is bad, it
usually gets very hot and no con-
trol is seen from the computer. If
the RAM IC is bad, generally the
cursor won't come up but the screen
steadies. If you think that the RAM
chip is bad and you have a 16K RAM
pack, just remove the 2K RAM IC
from the computer and try it with
the 16K RAM pack. The computer does
not need the 2K RAM chip when using
the 16K RAM pack.

There are three different issues
of the TS 1000 out there, so the
layout may not be the same as that
shown in the picture. To tell the
chips apart, the ULA says ULA or
Ferranti on it. The Z80 micro-
processor chip is the other IC the
same size as the ULA. The ROM is
socketed and the RAM is soldered
directly to the board.

To obtain parts for your com-
puter, write to:

Timex Computer Corp.

Little Rock Product Service Center
Little Rock, AR 72203
You can also buy whole computers
with minor defects from SYNTAX
magazine, RD 2 Box 457, Harvard, MA
01451 (617)456-3661 for $15 each
and from Electronics Supermarket,
PO Box 988, Lynnfield, MA 01940
(617) 532-23°3 for $18.88 each. This
way you have all the replacement
parts you may need.

Remember that you are dealing
with sensitive components and make
sure the computer is off before
pulling the RAM pack or any other
peripheral from the rear of the
computer. Also, if you don't feel
confident about soldering, ask a
friend who can do it for you. This
would be a difficult first project
to tackle.

— Joe Williamson

Tasprint

TASPRINT is a utility produced
by Tasman Software, the same -firm
in England which sells Tasword II
and the Tasman inter-face. Tasprint
can be used alone or merged with
Tasword II to provide 5 additional
type-faces to a dot matrix printer
with graphics capabilities. In Tas-
word II, Tasprint is called up by
typing the FREE keyword which shows
on the screen as a 'tilde'. Tas-
print uses two lines -for each o-f
its lines o-f print since its char-
acters are double height. Tasprint
is most use-ful -for producing a nice
flyer or other document that stands
out from the typical computer dot
matrix printout.

This typeface is designated
as 'Lectura Light' which I like
to use in conjunction with bold
face ' Median There is also a
superbold face, a computer face
called 'Data' and a Script. A
word or lin e may also be pr inted
or Iwith a box

i n

inverse

COUPflCTfl - bold and heavy, 9ood for emphasi

OflHMEI - A fUTUfiiSTiC SCRIPT

LECTURA LIb'HT - clean and pleasing to read

HEDIAN “ a serious bus iness _ like script

PCXCto StRTPJ - a dUtlnctlve -ik-owl-ag .knit.

— Richard Crauy

M-Script

MSCRIPT is the wor dprocessor that
was supposedly going to be offered
by Timex themselves, possibly even
on a cartridge. MSCRIPT has been
developed not only for the Timex
2068, but also for other computers
such as IBM and Radio Shack. As a
result, MSCRIPT is not customized
as well to the 2068s features and
keys as well as Tasword Two and
others. The manual is a generic
version which is obviously used
with every version of MSCRIPT so
never mentions the Timex except on
the introduction page. MSCRIPT is
being distributed by 21st Century
Electronics and has much to com-
mend it as well as some problems
(don't they all).

Since I began word processing on
my 2068 using Tasword Two, I tend
to judge all other programs by it.
MSCRIPT is, in my opinion, more
powerful in most ways than Tasword
Two. First, the display is in true
64 column mode as Timex never gave
it to us. In constrast, Tasword
uses a redefined character set.
However, MSCF'IPT does not actually
turn out with a better display
because it cannot be read as
clearly on a monitor (it is
altogether unreadable on a TV)
since it is in inverse. Tasword
displays as black characters on a
white screen; MSCRIPT does just the
opposite and suffers in readability
because of it. The option of
selecting ink/ paper colors would
certainly be a plus.

MSCRIPT allows lines longer than
64 characters, though it will only
show 64 on screen at once. Longer
lines move the screen "window" to
the right as characters past 64 are
entered. Tasword is limited to a
maximum of 64. At the bottom of the
screen is always displayed both
which column in your line and which
column in the window you are
working in. Similarly, which line
you are on both on the screen and
in your document is shown. Setting
or changing line length, indents,
margins, etc. can be accomplished
by either changing the parameters
of the program's print menu, or by
simply beginning a line with
">"fol lowed by the appropriate
mnemonic command and value.
Example: "LL=35 , JU=Y ,LM=8" tells

the printer to begin at that point
to print with a left margin of 8,
a line length of 35, and with text
justified (Y=yes) . Whereas Tasword
shows on the screen exactly what
goes to the printer, with screen
lines justified and screen line
length always equal to printer line
length, MSCRIPT is different.
Screen lines are not justified even
when justification is on. Screen
(or "window") lines can be set to
a different length than printer
line length. I am sure both systems
will have their advocates.

Keyboard scanning is very fast
in MSCRIPT, so a key can be pushed
then released much more quickly
than in Tasword. "Return" when
entered by the RETURN key are shown
on screen by a left slash to
distinguish it from word-wrap pro-
duced returns. The DELETE key is
operative in MSCRIPT or "function
D" can be used. "Function" is
produced by holding down on both
CAPS SHIFT and SYMBOL SHIFT at the
same time while also pushing the
appropriate menmonic character such
as "D". Most editing commands are
accomplished through using the
function commands. A separate set
of "Command" instructions are
available by pressing both CAPS
SHIFT and BREAK at the same time.
This key combination produces a
menu allowing loading, saving,

setting tabs, and adjusting window
line length. At the bottom of that
menu is also given memory used thus
■far, memory -free, word count, line
count, and -file name — a very nice
set o-f info not available with
Tasword .

All the -features usually found
on serious word processors are
there — block delete, copy and move,
search and replace, imbedded
printer codes, and such. When
editing previously entered text,
deletions often leave lines with
holes in them and short lines.
Tasword allows "ref ormatt i ng " a
paragraph by moving to the
beginning of the paragraph and
pressing STEP. On MSCRIPT it is
much easier; simply move your
cursor to any point before the
edited area and the paragraph is
automatical 1 y reformed .

The manual details how to use
MSCRIPT and its versatile formatt-
ing as a mail list manager and
label printer and simple filing
program.

Add i t i onal 1 y , MSCR I PT wi 1 1
automatically make page breaks and
number your pages. This must all be
done manually in Tasword Two.

I believe that MSCRIPT comes out
very well in comparison to Tasword
Two though MSCRIPT is more
expensive, currently retailing for
£69.95 versus £49. 95 for Tasword
Two. Its weak points I have mostly
named already: harder to read
screen, generic documentation, poor
utilization of 2068 keyboard. It
currently works only with the Aerco
printer interface. It comes
packaged in a padded cassette
holder along with two blank data
tapes and its 72 page manual. It is
definitely worthy of consider-
ation by anyone doing serious word
processing on their 2068. Let's
hope 21st Century will provide the
modificati ons — especi ally better
document at i on , T asman i nt. erf ace
compatibility and a better ink/
paper screen combination — that will
put MSCRIPT in a league by itself.

21st Century Electronics, 6813
Polk Street, Guttenberg, NJ 07093.
201/869-2616. £69.95 + 3.50 s/h.

— Richard Cravy

nHEX/STNCLSIR SOFTWARE

St a t e Cap i ta Is
1000 □ 2066 Q

Wo r id Cap i tats
1000 n 2066 □

U . S . President-

1000 n 206-
Solar Su^ jO

6* La e K. ja
1000 jj

One -firm Band i t

1000 o 2066 n

Paradise Park.

2058 □
Gunner
£068

' v ,d$

-T000 □ 2066 □

F tee t St r a t egy
□ 1000 □ 2068 Li

□

SRSE b r i n g s mo re info. h t L
programs cassette format; $8
for one, $7 each additional. .

•JACK DEUBER PC BOX 305

CASSELBERRY, FL 32787

FOOTED SOFTWARE

NEW! Badgammon 2068— Full color and sound
version ofthe popular Backgammon game— $ 19.95

2068' 1000/1500

U.S.A. (Presidents/

States & Capitols *15.95 . . *11.95

Calorie Counter 16.95 . . .12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) 14.95 9.95

Fun & Games

(Tic-Tac-Toe & Hangman) 7.95

“NOTE: 2068 versions contain full color and sound.

SPECTRUM ROM ‘20.00

SPECIAL FOR ONE YEAR SUBSCRIBERS TO
S.U.M. — SPECTRUM ROM — ONLY *18.00

The Spectrum ROM allows your TS2068 to run
Spectrum software. Just swap out ROMs or build
the “Spectremulator” described in the August &
September issues of S.U.M. Magazine.

Add *1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling.

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. O. Box 14655 / Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

Look for our products at Skipper Electronics!

OmniCalc 2 Spreadsheet

(Spectrum Rom)

Omni calc 2 :ls a spreadsheet pro-
gram that will allow you to have up
to 99 columns or 250 rows of data
with a max l mum of 5000 cells.
Unlike VuCaie, it allows the use of
all math functions such as NOT,
R ND, EXPONENTS, <, etc.

Omni calc uses a. split screen
showing two heading rows and one
heading column and these appear on
the spreadsheet no matter where the
window is in tne spreadsheet. This
■feature makes keeping up with the
data in the spreadsheet much
easier, un the screen, the data
window is 15 rows deep and three
columns wide with a preset data
space of seven digits per cell. All
input to the spreadsheet is
prompted with sound and screen
prompts .

A nice feature of this program
is thAt it will make graphs of your
data easily. They will be bar
graphs that will allow the bars to
be stacked one on top of the other.
After the graph is plotted, the
cursor can be moved around the
screen so that the graph can be
labeled before printing.

When the spreadsheet is printed
out you can print part of it or all
of it. The Timex printer prints
four columns while an 80 column
printer will print ten columns.
When you print, none of the column
or row location markers are printed

SPECTRUM ROM
SPECTRUM SOFTWARE

Considering interchanging ycr T52068 ROM
with the Spectrum RO M "

We carry a \J0\0 jntory of 48K

Spectrum so, „.v.ade, adventure, busi-

ness and utilit y ror the T52068/5pectrum.

Write for information and software brochure to

£. Me GHEE

Suite 150, 10127 - 121 5treet
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5N 5X1

out so you produce a nice, clean
pro-fessional looking table such as
the one shown below.

o m n i
c a l c

SALES

COST

PROFIT

JAN

1000

900

100

FEB

1100

990

110

MAR

1210

1089

121

APR

1331

1197

133

MAY

14-54

1317

145

JUN

1610

1449

151

JUL

1771

1594

177

RUG

1948

1753

194

SEP

2143

1929

214

OCT

2357

2122

235

NGU

2593

2334

259

DEC

2653

2557

255

TOTAL

21384

19245

2138

SAMPLE TABLE and GRAPH

MONTHLY SALES Vi COST VS PROFIT

2m.

MEAT D I U IS ION

Sa lei

There are many fine -features in
umni calc 2 that makes you wonder
how they can sell it for $20. To
run it on the Time;-; 2068 you will
need to have a Spectrum ROM. I
think it is a much better
spreadsheet than VuCalc and would
recommend it to anyone. I bought
mine at SOFTWARE SUPERMARKET, 87
HOWARDS LANE, LONDON SW15 6NU.

— Roger Hunziker

Word Processing

The Textwriter Series

Of all the word processing soft-
ware S.U.M. has reviewed, the
Textwriter series by Robert Fin-
gerle offers the most versatility
for all Timex computer user's.
Textwriter 1000 is for the 1000
and 1500 series machines and was
rated A+ in SYNC magazine's
review. (We will not review it
further here..) Textwriter 2000 is
designed for the 2068 with 2040
printer and- 32 column 'display (TV)
and 2000 Plus is for the 2068
with Aerco interface and 32 column
display. The newest in the series-,
Textwriter 2000. . + .64 . adds a true
64 column screen (monitor recom-
mended) .

Perhaps the nicest feature of
the Textwriter series, other than
the wide variety represented, is
the nearly identical set- of com-
mands used by each program so that
upgrading from one to the next is
fairly painless, except for the
extra cash outlay. Therefore, we
will primarily review the 2000 + 64
version and let you decide which
version matches your •hardware and
will meet your needs.

The manual for 2000 + 64 con-
sists of 12 pages of B 1/2 x 11
text which clearly carries the user
through the process of creating,
editing, printing, and saving a
document. The use of most of the
commands is easy to understand,
though I never did fully grasp how
to command my dot matrix printer
to change typestyles.

When the program first begins,
an opening menu in 32 column mode
of ’ers you several choices in-
cluding naming your file, begin
ning a file, changing your display,
saving a file, etc. One of the
criticisms I had of M— Script was
the unclear display . The +64
display is much clearer, perhaps
due to more efficient programming,
and your paper/ink colors can be
selected the maximize legibility, a
big plus in my book.

Text is entered in the TEXT mode
but , no editing except deletions on
the line you are working on is
possible without entering EDIT
mode. For moving quickly through
your text as when proofreading or
trying to reach a certain point,
the READ mode is accessed. Now back
the TYPE mode. When in this mode
your text is entered on the screen
in 64 column l.ines regardless of
what your printed line length will
be. When you reach the bottom of
the screen, your text scrolls up 10
lines so you can continue entering.
Because most of the program is
written in BASIC, keyboard response
is not as fast as in M-SCRIPT but
is more than' satisfactory consider-
the limitations of the 2068 key-
board. On the other hand, the pro-
gram is impressively fast for BASIC
and indicates good programming
techni que.

Entering EDIT mode allows a num-
ber of operations to take place. A
menu of available commands appears
across the bottom of the screen.
Examples are DL# (delete number of
lines specified from cursor down',
AL# (add blank number of lines
specified so insert can take
place) , C (closes up holes in text
left after editing), and various
commands starting with ' B ' for
block moves, inserts, deletes, etc.
Though it sounds complicated, in
use it is quite simple. I suspect
that for a person who has never
used a word processor before, it
would be quite adequate. For those,
like me, who have used a word
processor for a number of years,
the overall impression is mixed.
The program is easy to use, but
many of the commands are lir-^
oriented so that entire lines are
affected instead of blocks of
char act ers .

The PRINT section is adequate
though I have already mentioned
that what you see on the screen has
no relation to your printout unless
you want exactly 64 characters per
line just as the display has. Auto-
matic paging of text does occur
along with numbering of pages
and insertion of a "header" at the

top of each page, none of which are
available from TASWORD II.
Inserting printer commands in your
text apparently is possible (for
italicised words, etc.) but I never
figured out how to do it. Probably
more time with it would r have
yielded an answer. No more than one
line width is possible per document
unless tabs are used for those
sections of your text which are to
be indented. Printouts up to 255
characters wide are possible if
your printer can generate them.

All in all I believe TEXTWRITER
2000 + 64 is a good value at £29.95
since it offers reasonable capa-
bilities and 64 columns on screen.
Only TASWORD II (£49.95) and
•M— SCRIPT (£69.95) offer the same
screen sice. Your best bet? See all
three in action before making your
purchase. Next to impossible I
know, but that's the only safe bet.

TEXTWRITER series is available
from Bob Fingerle or a number of
other suppliers. The prices are as
foil ows:

TW 1000 £11.95

TW 2000 IS. 95

TW 2000 Plus ....24.95

TW 2000 + 64 ...29.95

The above prices are from WMJ Data
Systems catalog and include post-
age. Their address is 4 Butterfly
Drive, Hauppauge, NY 117BB. To
order direct from Bob Fingerle,
write to Robert Fingerle, 39639
Embarcadero, Fremont, CA 94538.

— Richard Gravy

WMJ Data Systems
Software

WMJ Data Systems has been kind
enough to provide us with several
of their software packages for re-
view. At this time, rather than go
through each one in detail, I want
to make a few comments about each
and urge you to request their cata-
log or see their ads in the Sept-
ember and October issues of SUM.

The 4 packages from WMJ I have
actually seen are: Stock Plot ,

Check Rec , Household Inventory ,

and Tax Return Organizer. There
are a number of other packages also
offered by WMJ, including the Text-
writer series by Fingerle. All 4 of
the above packages is available
both in 1000/1500 and in 2068 ver —
si ons.

My overall impression of these
packages is positive for two rea-
sons. First, each seems to be well
written from a programming stand-
point. Written in Basic, good
graphics and prompts greet you and
carry you along. Secondly, the doc-
umentation is good, not fancy, but
good. Each package is accompanied
by several full size sheets of in-
formation about its use. Not as
convenient as booklets, true, but
far better than the miniscule leaf-
lets with Timex software. ^

-All Software — 20 % off ’til 1/10/85-

F00TE% SOFTWARE

NEW! Badgammon 2068— Full color and sound
version of the popular Backgammon game — *19.95

2068- 1000/1500

U.S.A. (Presidents/

States & Capitols *15.95 . . *11.95

Calorie Counter 16.95 . . . 12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) 14.95 9.95

Fun & Games

(Tic-Tac-Toe & Hangman) 7.95

•NOTE: 2068 versions contain full color and sound.

SPECTRUM ROM *20.00

SPECIAL FOR ONE YEAR SUBSCRIBERS TO
S.U.M. — SPECTRUM ROM — ONLY *18.00

The Spectrum ROM allows your TS2068 to run
Spectrum software. Just swap out ROMs or build
the "Spectremuiator” described in the August &
September issues of S.U.M. Magazine.

Add *1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling.

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. 0. Box 14655 / Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

Look for our products at Skipper Electronics!

My only two critical comments
are both rather subjective, so not
everyone will agree- First, I could
never get the 1000/1500 Check Rec
to load. Two different tapes, three
different recorders, and still
nothing. However, I have not heard
of anyone else having trouble with
WMJ tapes. Second, several of the
packages do things that could pro-
bably been done better with a pen
and pad. When I asked William M.
Johnson (thus WMJ) about this, he
commented, "Our programs are
designed for people who love to use
their computers in their every day
lives, and you can only play so
many computer games." Well said.

Check Rec is the first check
book program I would be tempted to
use myself. It is easy to use and
the screen display is admirable.
Stock Plot allows you to keep up
with your stock prices for a 26
week period including producing
graphs on screen and to the printer
for each stock as well portfolio
profit/loss, dollar value, shares
held, etc. Since I own no stock, I
can go no further on this one.

Household Inventory uses a
spreadsheet format for entering an
inventory of your home's furnish-,
ings; up to 300 pieces of data
(cost, serial #, dates, etc.) can
be stored in the 2068 version, less
on the 1000/1500. Multiple files
could be used if that is not enough
room. I liked to screen presenta-
tion though scrolling was a slow
because of the routines being in
Basic. Tax Return Organizer allows
you to enter data you will need
later in filling out your tax forms
but does not actually fill out the
forms for you (sorry) . Its purpose
is to get you to collect most or
all of the information you will
need ahead of time and keep it in
this computer record. It should
simplify filling cut your return.

The best I've saved for last.
WMJ is not out to get rich off the
Timex market That is apparent by
the relatively low prices he is
charging for his software. Each of
the above packages are $10 to $12.
A good buy for those who need them.

WMJ Data Systems, 4 Butterfly
Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.

— Richard Cravy

Spectrum Buss on 2068

I stated in the last issue that
we ordered the Rotronics Wafadrive
system from England. I also
promised that I would give a report
on it. Unfortunately, we have yet
to receive it.

Anticipating it's arrival I have
prepared a Spectrum buss to plug
the unit into. We have already
received the operations manual and
discovered that it will require a
Spectrum ROM based 2068 (the ROM
inside the drives begin where the'
operating system leaves off on the
Spectrum which would "write" over
part of the 2068 ' s operating
system.) It will also require the
R0MCS line and +9 volts which do
not appear on the 2068. These will
have to be generated somehow.

For R0MCS, the 2068 buss has a
"not used" finger in the same
position as where R0MCS appears on
the Spectrum. I went inside my 2068
and connected a small wire between
pin 27 of the ROM socket (U16) and
the "not used" finger of the rear
edge connector (pin 26 on the
bottom side). It should be obvious
which one it is because no solder
lands lead away from this finger.

After this is done, that gives
us 29 positions the same as the
rear card-edge connector on the
Spectrum. For the rest of the
connections, I made up an extender
card using a 28 position wire wrap
edge connector and an extender caru
cut to size (28 positions and one
inch long) (Vector part number
3690) both available at Skipper
Electronics. I keyed the edge con-
nector and slotted the card in the
5th position as on the Spectrum and
then proceeded to solder all the
pins that were the same on both
machines (see figures) to it's cor-
responding position an the edge
card. The remaining pins were cut

back some so they wouldn't short
against anything.

To generate the +9 volts, I used
a -five volt regulator (#7805) and a
3.9 volt zener diode in series with
the ground lead (diode cathode to
ground lead) which references the
7805 voltage regulator at 3.9 volts
thus giving a total regulated
output of 5+3. 9=8. 9 volts which is
close enough. Tie the input leg of
the regulator to + 15v (pin 2 bottom
side of the 2068.) Tie the output
lead to finger 4 on the bottom side
of the extender card and the anode
lead of the zener diode to
pin/finger 6 (ground) See figure.

Using as short as possible
lengths of wire, connect signals

from the 2068 buss to their respec-
tive positions on the Spectrum buss
(see figure). The positions are
numbered differently between the
2068 and the Spectrum, but every-
thing is relative to the slot, so
keep counting from there.

To save time and trouble, I only
connected A8-A15, BUSRQ , RESET, and
BUSAK. The -5 volts, +12 volts, and
the -12 volts will probably be
required for the RS232 part of the
Rotronics, but we will worry about
that later when we receive the
dr i ves.

Next Months A printer interface
you can build for the 2068!

- — Joe Williamson

'SpeC'+TUrfA.

s;«lt

"%/ i •

'fa V •

ii.t i

/? / ^

IhoS

in /TV our

psilw rT*

w*+j^** r

I Si

CNt

lao+f©*A,

5 volt regulator and diode wiring

2068

BUSS

ZX SI

-•ECTRUM BUSS

Top

Bottom

Top

Bottom

GND

EAR

SPKR/TAPE

□UT A 1 5

A 1 4

A7RB

+15 VOLTS

A 1 3

A12

+5 VOLTS

y t

+5 VOLTS

DZIN

NOT USED <

:< NOT USED

+? VOLTS

— SLOT-

- 6

-SLOT

—

-SLOT-

— 5

-SLOT

GND

D 1

GND

Dl-

GND

CLOCK

D 6

1 1

A 1

A 2

1 1

I NT

A15B

I NT

ICjRQGEl

NMI

A 1 4B

MN I

GND

HALT

A13B

HAL T

VIDEO

—

MREQB

A12

MREQ

I0RQB

All

I ORB

RDB

A10

WRB

BUSRQ

BUSACK

—5

VOLTS

RESET

WAIT

busr!3

A 6

+ 12

VOLTS

—

RESET

A5.

-12

VOLTS

'n "T

RFSHB

NOT USED <<

RFSH

ROMCS

EXR0M

A 8

BUSACK

R0SCS

A10

NOT

USED

All

ir-

I0A5

BUS ISO

SOUND

VIDEO

GND

ZX/TS Repair Guide III

Ram Pack Repairs

In this article, I will discuss
some of the problems that can occur
with the 16K RAM pack for the ZX81 ,
TS 1000, and TS 1500.

As I said in my last article,
RAM pack 'wobble' is the most
common problem and can be cured by
cleaning the connector, raising the
RAM pack off the table, and using
Velcro/double-sided tape to secure
it to the rear of the computer.

This month we will go inside the
RAM pack and see what we can do to
solve some of its problems.

If you have crashes every time
you power up your computer with the
RAM pack attached, and it works
fine without, and you have tried
the above cures, then possibly you
have a faulty RAM pack. Generally,
the screen will try to initialize
but can't and might scroll wild
characters up the screen.

A different sequence is the com-
puter initializing properly and
seems to work OK, but strange
characters appear on the screen in
random places and in text you write
on the screen. This means that you
have a bad memory chip. Bad news!

First things first. Before you
open your RAM pack, check and make
sure the 'key' is still in the
third slot from the left. If not,
replace it with a small piece of
plastic cut to size (I found that
the plastic AC receptacle plugs for
guarding against children's fingers
happen to be the right thickness
and width - just cut to length).

To open the RAM pack, remove the
four screws, two in the front and
two in the rear. Carefully remove
the back cover and then work the
connector through the opening in
the front to separate the circuit
board from the front cover.

□nee apart, carefully spread the
two boards apart. Watch the flex-
ible connector as it can break off
from either end quite easily. This
is the first thing to check as I
have opened several to find this

was the only problem. The easiest
way to repair this is to add
another wire to replace the broken
one and be sure to cut the broken
one back so that the frayed ends
won't short against anything.

Electrically, the power supply
is the first thing to check. The
RAM pack has its own switching
power supply and derives +12 volts
and -5 volts from the +9 volt
computer supply. To check for
proper voltages, plug the RAM pack
in (cover still off) and turn on
the computer and measure the volt-
age on pins 1, 8, 9, and 16 on the
4116 RAM IC chips with respect to
ground. Ground can be found on pins
4 5 on the edge connector under-
side. Pin 1 on the 4116 RAM IC chip
should read -5 volts, pin 8 should
read about +12 volts, pin 9 should
read +5 volts and pin 16 should
read 0 volts.

If these voltages are off, check
the diodes and the transistor. The
transistor can be replaced by a
2N3906. I have seen the 5.1 volt
zener diode short out in several
packs, so if you don't have -5
volts, this most likel/ is your
problem (look at the schematic
included in this issue).

There were three issues of the
RAM pack with each one laid out
differently as far as components
are concerned, otherwise they
basically work the same. The RAM IC
chips are on the board farthest
away from the edge connector. There
will be 8 of them all marked with
the number 4116. Each chip is 16K

by 1 bit. The Z-80 mi cr cpr ocessor
is an 8-bit machine, ie, 8 chips.
All the memory chips are wired in
parallel so it is di-f-ficult to
determine which is/are defective.

I have found that sometimes you
can determine which one is bad by
freezing the chips, one at a time,
until it works. You can find
'freeze mist' at your local Radio
Shack or electronics store. To find
the faulty chip, simply freeze one
chip and turn on the computer with
RAM pack. Do this for each one
until you freeze one and find it
works. It will probably only work
for only a few seconds if you do it
this way.

Though freezing the chips some-
time works, you may find that you
wasted a $3 can of freeze mist. If
you do find a chip that you think
is bad, replacing it is another
story. You need a very fine solder-
ing iron and some method of solder
removal — I would suggest the vacuum
method. These boards have very thin
solder lands and were not designed
to be repaired.

The other chips on the boards
rarely go out so I would not worry
about them. Your best bet is to buy
several RAM packs as back ups. I
have seen them for as little as $10
uncased. Syntax is selling them for
$15 (see address last issue).

As a final note, when removing
the screws from any of the com-
puters, be sure to remember where
they came from. The screws are not
all the same size and could strip
out their plastic counterparts when
replaced in the wrong position.
Also, don't over torque the screws.

Next month I will talk about
adding and changing the rear edge
connector on the 2068 to run Spec-
trum hardware (like mi cr odr i ves) .

— Joe Williamson

T5 2068 Printer Interface

This month I will discuss building
a printer interface for the 2068.
With all the software out on the
market for the 2068, its hard to
figure out what's the best route to
take in deciding which printer
interface to buy for the best
variety of good programs. The
interface described here will work
with almost all of them - either
Spectrum or 2068 type.

Once again, this is a fairly
advanced project and should be
attempted by only those who have
had lots of experience soldering
and working with digital circuits.

The two most popular Interfaces are
the Aerco printer interface from
here in the states and the Tasman
interface from England. Tasman has
two types of interfaces out on the
market named type 'A' and type 'B'.
The type 'B' is the one that is
sold now, but there is still alot
of the type 'A' software out there.

Each type is decoded to a specific
1/0 port (0-255) of the computer
for both sending data to the
printer and receiving the status of
the printer (whether its busy or
not). The different ports are as

f ol lows :

port

type :

OUT

Aerco

127

Tasman 'A'

123

Tasman ’B'

191

123

To design a printer ’nterface that
will emulate any of these other
available interfaces, you need to
be able to decode all of these 1/0
ports .

Address lines A0-A7 are used to
select any one of the 256 possible
1/0 ports. Eight address lines,
2t8=256. To select port 127, all
address lines would be logic 1 with
the exception of A7 being logic 0.

The address lines are weighted as
foil ows :

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

A 7 A6 A5 A 4 A3 A2 A1 AO

64+32+16+8+4+2+1= 127

Hence, port 127 is selected when
A0-A6 are logic 1 or true. For the
rest of the ports in the table
above, you can see that the only
address lines that change are A2,
A6 , and A7 while AO, Al, A3, A4,

and A5 all don't change. With just
A2, A6, and A7 changing, the

following table can be derived:

A0-A1, A3-A5 are logic 1

logic

A2 A6 A7 port

0 0 0 0 59

1001 187

2010 123 <

3011 251

4100 63 <

5101 191 <

6110 127 <

7111 255

Try adding up the weight of each
address and see if you come up with
the ports listed above.

Hardware wise, the above table
can be implemented by using a 74LS
138 - a 3 to 8 line decoder. This
chip also has several enables on it
which makes it handy for taking
care of other control lines.

The other addresses are 'NANDed'
together using a 74LS20 4-lnput
NAND gate and tied to one of the
enab les of the decoder along with
IOFQ and A5 . The outputs are
'NORed' using a 7411 3-input NAND
gate and then are 'ANDed' with
their respective WR and RD lines
using a 74LS02 NOR gate. These two
outputs go into a S-R flip-flop
using left over gates which strobes
the printer.

The chip count is only six in this
project and will allow you to drive
a parallel printer using any

software that contains the printer
driver built in such as TASWORD II,
HSCRIPT, MASTERFILE, TEXTWRITER+ 64
and others for either the Aerco or
Tasman interfaces.

Next month I will talk about the
signals the printer requires and
give a circuit board layout.

Joe Will iamson

Beginner's Basic Programming

This is a beginner's program that
will display some of the useful
capabilities of the Tlmex-Slnclair
computers and will run on the ZX 80
(8K), ZX 81, TS 1000 (all with 16K
RAM attached), TS 1500, and the TS
2068. For convenience, lets call
these the 1000 and the 2068. The
convention is to number in
increments of 10. Do not be afraid
to experiment! alot can be learned
about the art of programming from
experiment ing.

SAVEing is the most important
consideration for a beginning
programmer. Read the User Manual
chapter on SAVEing. Type 9991 SAVE
"smily face" ENTER. Do you know why
the 'e' was left out of "smily
face"? Insert the 'e' and type GOTO
9991 ENTER. See why? DELETE the
'e'. Type GOTO 9991 ENTER. -Note, I
will type all key-words in CAPITALS
so they can be entered with one
keystroke from the keyboard.

To make the program auto-run upon
loading, type 9995 GOTO 1 on the
1000. On the 2068, type 9991 SAVE
“smily face" LINE 1 ENTER (LINE 1
auto-runs on the 2068). For the
2068, type 9992 INPUT "Verify? y/n
")n$ ENTER, 9993 IF n$="n" THEN
STOP ENTER, 9994 VERIFY "" ENTER.
After SAVEing you will be asked:
Verify? y/n. Typing 'n' will stop
the program. Any other key (except
BREAK or spacebar) w 1 1 1 verify your
program. SAVE the program to tape
for future use.

Lets develope a simple, straight
forward arithmetic program, such as
x + y = z. X Is the augend, y Is
the addend and z Is the sum. x and
y enter the problem into the
computer. Z enters the answer of
the student.

LOAD your SAVE routine from tape
and type 3310 INPUT x ENTER, 3320
INPUT y ENTER, GOTO 1 ENTER. Answer
the INPUTS. Surprised? Hold down
both the CAPS SHIFT and BREAK keys
until the program BREAKS. A barrier
is needed between the program and
the save routine. Type 9990 STOP
ENTER, GOTO 1 ENTER.

To present the problem to the
student, type 3350 PRINT AT 6,0 Jx;
" + "Jy;" = ?" Enter. 3360 INPUT z
ENTER. Type 3380 PRINT AT 6,0JxJ" +
■;y;‘ = "Jz ENTER. -Note: the

computer does just what you tell It
to so the answer may be wrong! Run
the program and Input 7 for x, 8
for y, and 13 for z. When 7 + 8 =

13 Is presented on the screen, type
PRINT x+y ENTER. The correct answer
will be printed on the next line.
To make the program repeat, type
3490 goto 3300 ENTER.

We now have a usable progam. If you
wish a complete math program, EDIT
each line and make the following
changes in lines 3310-3490. Add 200
to each line number and change the
to a Then take this set of

program lines, add 200 to each line
number and change the to a

Then take this set and add 200 to

TIMEX-SINCLAIR Sof tware/Hardware
(2068-1000 ****** SPECTRUM- 1000)

* SMART II Modem so-f t ware. . *23. 88

* ROMSWITCH -for 2068 - lets your
2068 run SPECTRUM - grams *49.88

* 2068 PINBO' • ^ )GE...*19.95

* VU-FIl * \|0' W wD-ea. *15. 95

* Many & titles below *20.

* 2068 M. ..u-DRIVE SYSTEM. *189. 88

* Send a 2 stamp LSASE for our
complete catalog ! !

*** SUM-WARE ***

810 Mammot ALDEN NY 14004

each line number and change the ***
to a ' / ’ so that you have a program
that looks like the one below. SAVE
the program by typing in GOTO 9991
ENTER. Study ways to make this
program more user friendly.

Next month we will add a menu, make
the insertion of x and y automatic,
number the problems, and continue
general improvements making the
program more useful. In the
meantime, EXPERIMENT!

Bill Woodward

3310 INPUT x
3320 INPUT y

3350 PRINT AT 6,0;x;‘ + "iy;‘
= ?"

3360 INPUT z

We Have Spectrum Software!

FOOTE

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NEW! Badgammon 2068— Full color and sound
version of the popular Backgammon game — *19.95

2068’ 1000/1500

U.S.A. (Presidents/

States & Capitols *15.95 .. *11.95

Calorie Counter 16.95 . . . 12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) 14.95 9.95

Fun & Games

(Tic-Tac-Toe & Hangman) 7.95

•NOTE: 2068 versions contain full color and sound.

SPECTRUM ROM *20.00

SPECIAL FOR ONE YEAR SUBSCRIBERS TO
S.U.M. — SPECTRUM ROM — ONLY *18.00

The Spectrum ROM allows your TS2068 to run
Spectrum software. Just swap out ROMs or build
the “Spectremuiator” described in the August &
September issues of S.U.M. Magazine.

Add *1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling.

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. O. Box 14655 / Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

Look for our products at Skipper Electronics!

3380

AT 6,0;xJ'

" ; y;

3490

GO TO

3300

3510

INPUT

3520

INPUT

3550

AT 6,0111'

"ly;

3560

INPUT

3580

AT 6,o;x; "

" ; y ;

3690

GO TO

3500

3710

INPUT

3720

INPUT

3750

AT 6,0; x; "

★

■ • •• »
> y >

?■

3760

INPUT

3780

AT 6,o;x; *

■ * «> *
> y *

?•

3890

GO TO

3700

3910

INPUT

3920

INPUT

3950

AT 6,0;x;"

> y >

3960

INPUT

3980

AT 6,o;x; "

f y 9

4090

GO TO

3900

9990

STOP

9991

SAVE "

smlly face'

LINE

9992

INPUT

"verify? y/n

";n*

9993

IF n* =

'n* THEN STOP

9994

VERIFY

• m

♦Run a separate wire (not
included) connected to the +5 volts
location shown in the instructions
•for the RGB Conversion Kit.

Try out the new system by

entering BORDER 6. If the edges of
the display have wiggles or the
screen goes blank, open the

computer and adjust the Horizontal
by turning the "VRI" located in the
bottom left side and/or the "C5"
which is at the middle upper right
part of the board.

I now have fantastic sharpness
and color. I noticed Sears had this
monitor on sale recently for

$319. 00. (Editor's Note: Consumer

Report's January 1985 issue rated
this monitor's 80 column display in
RGB mode as good as those monitors
costing twice as much!)

— Phil McConaghey

An RGB Monitor for the T5 2068

I purchased a Model No. 4084 TV/
monitor from. Sears ($364.00
including tax') together with RGB
Cable Model 6539 ($18.00). I had
to modify my computer using an RGB
Conversion kit #220-453 from Arthur
Brown Co., 1702 Oak Knoll Drive,
Alexandia MN 56308 ($19.95). This
kit requires opening the computer
and doing some soldering in'ide. I
connected the cable as follows:

Conversion Cable RGB Sears Cable

Brown

Red

□range

Green & Yellow
Whi te
B1 ack
*+5 volts

Orange

Red

Brown

Bare Wire

Green

B1 ue

Yellow

COMMODORE 64
TIMEX-SINCLAIR

WE CARRY MANY UNES C f SOFTWARE FOR THE
COMMODORE 64 AND FDR TRE COMPLETE LINE OF
TtMEX-SINCLAIR COMPUTERS

TIRED OF

THROWAWAY SOFTWARE?

TAX RETURN ORGANIZER

Most tax Programs can only be usea once fcv a com-
puterized taxpayer The TAX RETURN ORGANIZER is
different The TRO consists of four programs wmch
heip the taxoayer organize his tax records Since the
TRO does not follow the forev?' changing tax forms it
can be useo year after year The TRO was written by
an accountant with the average taxpavei m m*nd
Commodore 64 cass-S20 dfsk-S25
TS 1 000- 1 500-ZX8 1 cass-$18
TS2068 cass-$2G

Postage preoaid N Y. residents aoo sales tax.
C.0.0 aoo S3 00

FREE CATALOG-SPECIFY COMPUTER
WMJ OATA SYSTEMS
4 BUTTERFLY DRIVE
, HAUPPAUGE. NEW YORK 11788

( 516 ) 543-5252

\ .

TS 2068 Printer Interface

Last month when I started my
article for the printer Interface,
I came up with the idea of using
the cartridge port. I had designed
the printer Interface using the
rear edge connector on my 'proto-
board' and everything worked great
on that. As I was writing the
article, I changed heading and
actually altered the schematic
without implementing the changes
using the cartridge port.

Since then, I have built a
proto-type and actually do use it
(In fact, for this article). I cut
an edge-card board down to size and
mounted the components and had room
to spare. The wire from the
Interface comes out where the door
meets the bottom edge and bends
around and out from underneath the
computer. The cartridge door closes
perfectly and there is plenty for
room for the ribbon cable to exit
unerneath the computer.

Using the cartridge port seemed a
logical idea with all the other
peripherals I had hanging off the
rear edge connector. little room
was left for anything else. I
started laying out the printed
circuit board and realized (again)
that another Improvement was in
order.

Why not add an EPROM holder to the
board and have a combination
printer interface /EPROM board? So I
scrapped the layout I had almost
finished and started laying out one
that would hold the EPROM board
schematic shown in the 2068
technical manual. This required a
little more time and work and as of
this writing, I'm not quite
finished so I'll have to wait till
next issue to print my masterpiece.

Fortunately, all the signals needed
were available from the cartridge
port with the exception of RESET
which is not absolutely needed but
could be emulated using a 'poor
man's reset' which is a resistor
- capacitor combination which will

bring the common line between the
two to a low (logic 0), simulating
RESET.

You will notice that last month, I
connected the 'poor man's reset'
directly to the INIT of the printer
and to the R-S flip flop
combination (74LS1 1(C), 74LS20(B>,.
and 74LS02(D)}. This allows the
printer to reset the interface, but
when you turn on the computer.
It's possible to fill the printer's
buffer with nonsense characters
because the INIT line floats high
to logic 1 and won't allow the
computer to bring it low when it
powers up.

This is really no big deal and can
be cleared by simply sending
something to be printed to the
printer.

Hardware wise, there is a simple
solution. Instead of going directly
to the INIT line of the printer, go
through one of the unused buffers
of the 74LS367 - namely in on pin
10 and out to INIT from pin 9. This
will isolate the INIT from the
RESET until the computer is turned
on which in turn turns on. the
buffer and resets the printer while
RESET is still low.

Please note the correction in this
month's issue. Also, the missing
pin numbers for the 74LS02(d) have
been included.

I finished last month telling how
the decoding of the ports work
which allows emulating both the
Aerco and Tasman interfaces. This
finishes the operation with how the
data is read from and written to
the printer.

The first thing that must be done
before data is sent to the printer
is to check the status of the
printer. The printer must be ready
to accept data before any can be
sent, otherwise, that data will be
lost and only garbage will print.

s \ot

J4 CARTRIDGE
componcnt sinr

I I 5, .O S I, O, I — I

«t -I J "*| -I « *15 ® * * Z *--• l* * ^

« •«! «! a Vs* ■* 4 *; L a-

VVVVVVVVV ✓ V 7 / V V

JO ?J >4 J* IB W JJ

?» «n >>.

NONC.OMPONI N ' 0101

SELECT tells whether the printer is
on line or not and PAPER tells you
when the paper has run out on your
printer. INIT clears the printer's
buffer and resets it. BUSY tells
you when the printer is ready to
accept new data and STROBE is a
signal to the printer telling it
to load data into the buffer for
printing. These 'handshaking' lines
keep everything in order so the
proper operation happens at the
proper time.

When the interface is powered up,
it resets the flip flop into the

FOOTE

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The SPECTRUM ROM allows your TS2068 to run 99%
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August & September issues of SUM Magazine.

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Faster than Flight Simulator/includes air combat!

Jet Set Willy $13.95

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Fast action arcade maze games! Works on both
Spectrum and 2068 (we tell you how!).

TS2068 ROM Software

Badgammon $15.00

U.S.A. (Presidents/States & Capitols) $12.95

Calorie Counter $12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) $t2.95

ZX81/TS1000/TS1500 Software

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Calorie Counter &7.95

Advanced Math $7.95

Tic-Tac-Toe/Hangman $7.95

Add $1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. O. Box 14655 — Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

read state. The printer
must be checked is the
Programs written for
interfaces check bit

line that
BUSY line,
the Tasman
0, those

written for the Aerco interface
check bit 4. Notice on the schema-
tic that the BUSY line goes through
the 74LS367 buffer to both bit 0
and bit 4 .

The EPROM part of the Interface is
basically the same as that shown in
the 2068 technical manual in figure
5.1-1. This Is the same
configuration as what Doug Dewey
uses for his EMU-1 Spectrum
Emulator, and what Ray Kingsley
and John Oliger use for their
EPROM cartridge boards.

Once the program has determined
that it can send data, an out
command is done to the printer I/F
port placing the printer data on
the data buss lines of the
computer. This out command 'clocks’
the 74LS374and 'latches' (stores)
the data onto the printer data
lines. This also toggles the flip
flop and 'strobes' the printer,
filling the printer’s buffer with
data to be printed.

This process takes place each time
a character is sent to the printer.
When nothing is happening, the
74LS367 and 74LS374 are in their
'tri-state' which isolates the
computer's data buss so that it can
perform other operations.

I used a 'solder transition
connector' (like what Aerco uses)
to permanently terminate the ribbon
cable to the p. c. board and a
standard crimp-on Centronics style
ribbon connector on the other end.
I have had no problem using this on
my Panasonic printer, a Rlteman,
and the Star (Gemini lOx) printers.

Next month, I will talk about print
routines to drive the printer
interface and I promise to have the
printed circuit board layout.

Joe Will lamson

Each issue brings you 32 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware
projects, and applications for you r computer. T-S HORIZONS
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IN T-S HORIZONS »7
Byte Back Modem Review
2068 Programming Tips
How a Comp i ler Works
Te 1 ecommumi c at i ons
for Beginners
Book & Game Reviews
Rotating Globe Routine
Articles By G. Young
and Paul Hunter
Sinclair Info. Network
TS-1000 Pa *r Supply
-and more 1 ! !

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Hardware Project

Can\ pone**!" L&ijocjf

2068 Printer Interface
and Rom Card

This month I finish up my series on
the printer interface with the
circuit board layout and simple
print driver software.

In reconfiguring the layout to
include the ROM interface, I had to
rearrange things a bit, so here is
the final version of the schematic
showing the new pin configuration.
The schematic to the ROM interface
is identical to what is shown in
the 2068 technical manual.

This takes a double-sided board
which is very difficult to align
properly, so take great care in
transferring the layout to copper.
It would be advisable to send it
off and have it done professionally
which is what I am having done.

I used a standard centronics
connector with 26 conductor ribbon
cable to match up to the 26 pin
solder transition connector on the
interface board. Note that this
only takes care of pins 1-13 and
pins 19-31 on the printer con-
nector. This is where all the

Component layout on circuit board (shown actual size)

necessary signals for proper
operation are (see diagram) . Also
note that all the signal pins
(except INIT) are on the top side

of the connector and that all the
lower pins (19-30) are ground. This
makes every other wire in the
ribbon cable a ground which
isolates all the data signals. That
is why every other pin on the
interface connector is a ground.
When you make up the cable, make
sure that pin 1 of the printer
connector goes to pin 1 of the
interface connector.

The signals shown and used are
for my Panasonic KX-P1091. Your
printer may be slightly different.
The only signals absolutely re-
quired are STROBE, DATA 1-8, and
BUSY. The other pins are just
luxury (my schematic lists DATA 1-8
as PO-7) . In fact, All software
that I have seen written for Timex
and Sinclair use these signals.

To use the interface, plug the
interface in, turn on the computer
and load any program for use with
Tasman or Aerco printer interfaces
(with print driver software built
in such as Tasword, Mscript,
Textwritter, etc.) and enjoy! No
more worries about POKEing this and
that.

Etch issue brings you 32 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware
projects, and applications for your computer. T-S HORIZONS
features nationally known authors like Paul Hunter, Gordon
Young, and others. The price is ONLY 115.00 for a full year
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Use a connector, AMP CHAMP 36
BAIL LOCK TYPE, to input data into
the Printer. Pin configuration and its
signals of the receptacle in left rear of
the Printer are described below. Pins
18 and 36 are not linked.

SIGNAL

STROBE

TPG (PAIR WITH 1 PIN)

DATA1

TPG (PAIR WITH 2 PIN)

DATA 2

TPG (PAIR WITH 3 PIN)

DATA 3

TPG (PAIR WITH 4 PIN)

DATA 4

TPG (PAIR WITH 5 PIN)

DATA 5

TPG (PAIR WITH 6 PIN)

DATA 6

TPG (PAIR WITH 7 PIN)

DATA 7

TPG (PAIR WITH 8 PIN)

DATA 8

TPG (PAIR WITH 9 PIN)

ACK

TPG (PAIR WITH 10 PIN)

BUSY

TPG (PAIR WITH 11 PIN)

paper,

GND

SELECT

iNTTiAL (PAIR WITH 14 PIN)

GND

ERROR (PAIR WITH 1 5 PIN)

GND

CLK (PAIR WITH 33 PIN)

CHASSIS GND

TEST (PAIR WITH 1 6 PIN)

+ 5V 80mA Max.

+ 5V

Pins used on parallel 36 pin connector (1-13 & 19-31 pins only)

To use the interface with your
own programs, the following program
will take whatever is placed in a$
and print it. You can format a$ to
print out in any mode you choose by
checking with your printer manual
and placing the proper codes in a$
around your text. Use it as a sub-
routine in your own program.

IN T-S HQR120NS <7
Byte Back Modem Review
2068 Programming Tips
How a Compiler Uorks
Telecommunications
for Beginners
Book & Game Reviews
Rotating Globe Routine
Articles By G. Young
and Paul Hunter
Sinclair I fo. Netwcrk
TS-1000 Power Supply
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•loan Ouw>f to r» Tnw Ca<M> Uw

An* lil SL2S

TS-2ICI TMM0/1SII

P IOC I A MS liDI SWITCHING *4

TIPS * WOli *• C0MCLU0I0

■ (VIEWS POWEI SUPPLY?

9000 REM a$ contains material to
be printed

SPECTRUM ROM
SPECTRUM SOFTWARE

Considering interchanging your T52068 ROM
with the Spectrum RO<^^

We carry a cc /entory of 48K

Spectrum softi _,^ade, adventure, busi-

ness and utilities for the T52068/5pectrum.

Write for information and software brochure to

E. McGHEE

Suite 150, 10127 - 121 Street
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada TStl 5X1

9010 FOR n=l TO LEN a$

9020 IF IN 1270236 THEN GO TO
9020

9030 OUT 123, CODE a$ (n)

9040 NEXT n
9050 OUT 123,10
9060 RETURN

Line 9010 checks for the length of
the string to be printed and sets
this as the number of loops the
program makes. Line 9020 checks to
see if the printer is ready for
data to be sent. My printer reports
with 236 when its ready to receive
data, yours may be different. To
check yours, simply turn on the
entire system and enter: PRINT IN
127 or 63 or 191, and this will
give you the ready data. Use that
if its different from mine. Once
the printer is ready for data, line
9030 outputs to the printer the
current 'slice' of a$. It then goes
back and gets the next character
and continues till all of a$ has
been sent. Line 9050 then tells the
printer that its finished sending
and to do one linefeed.

If you like to experiment, try
removing line 9020 and see how far
you can print till things get
jumbled. I can usually print at
least a whole line. Without line
9020, its like shooting in the dark
continuously, hoping that maybe you
will hit the target at least once!

The EPROM part of the interface
gives you the ability of using the
printer interface with a spectrum
emulator. Doug Dewey's EPROM from
his EMU-1 will work as well as
other EPROMs such as those from Ray
Kingsley and others which are
slowly making their way to the
marketplace .

FOOTE SOFTWARE intends to offer
this interface as the FOOTE PRINT
and will include MC software for
LPRINT and LLIST and possibly COPY.
Write to them for details (see ad
this issue) . Price is expected to
be less than $50.

— Joe Williamson

Top

ribUoKuJire

Pl P l py P7 Select

Po ^ PI P<, ^

untv^o-r ke^Ji ore. gro

Enlarged view of wire ribbon connections on board

it.*

Front and back of circuit board (actual size)

Beginner’s Programming

(Part II)

Last month we started programming
with x+y=z. Our meager beginning
has revealed the complexity of a
simple program. By incrementing one
Improvement at a time, we can make
this program into a piece of
professlnoal work. Let's first make
the computer write the problems for
us. Load in last month's program to
get started.

The user's manual explains random
numbers and the INTeger function.
The INTeger and RND function will
enter a value for x and y automati-
cally. Let's limit the value of x
and y to single digit numbers
between 0-9. That will ensure a
positive answer. Addition and
multiplication present no problem.

In subtraction, the subtrahend must
be smaller than the minuend. In
division, the dividend (x) must be
larger than the divisor (y) in
order to ensure a positive number
and greater than one. The value of
the divisor must be entered first
so that the value of the dividend
can be multiplied by it to give the
dividend the proper value.

In order to give the RANDom number
generator a starting point, type in

3300 RAND 0
or

3300 RAND

depending upon your computer. Edit
line 3300 to lines 3500. 3700,

3900. Type in:

3310 LET x = INT <RND * 10)

This line can be used in addition,
subtraction, and multiplication so
edit line 3310 to lines 3510 and
3710. Edit line 3310 to read:

3320 LET y * INT (RND * x)

Now y can never be larger than x.

In division, you cannot divide by
0, therefore the divisor must never
be 0. Type:

3910 LET y = INT (RND * 9>+l

The divisor will never be more than
one digit or equal to 0. To keep
the answer whole, multiply the
random number by the divisor, type:

3920 LET x= INT (RND*10)*y

Delete 3390, 3590, 3790, and 3990.

Consider now providing feed back
for a wrong answer. If x + y does
not equal z, how can the computer
tell the student? One simple
straight forward solution is to
present the problem to the computer
to solve. Type:

3410 IF zOx+y THEN GO TO 3350

Edit this line to 3610, 3810, and

4010 changing the + to - to * and
to / as appropriate.

In lines 3380, 3580, 3780, and

3980, change the •« ?" to "■ m fz

To select the option we desire
calls for a menu. Type in:

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3070 PRINT AT 6,0; "IF YOU WISH T
0 DO SOME PRACTICE"

3072 PRINT AT 8,3; "IN ADDITION..
..TYPE 1"

3074 PRINT AT 10,3; “IN SUBTRACTI
ON TYPE 2"

3076 PRINT AT 12,3;"IN MULTIPLIC
ATION TYPE 3"

3078 PRINT AT 14,3; "IN DIVISION.

TYPE 4"

3079 PRINT AT 16,3; "TO EXIT..
TYPE 5“

3080 PAUSE 0 (OR 4E4)

Now to read INKEY# functions;
3090 CLS

3100 LET A$=INKEY$

3110 IF A# = " 1 " THEN GO TO 3310

3120 IF A$=“2" THEN GO TO 3510

3130 IF A$="3“ THEN GO TO 3710

3140 IF A#= " 4“ THEN GO TO 3910

3150 IF A$ = "5 * THEN STOP
3160 IF A$<> " 1 " OR A# < > " 2" OR A#
< > " 3" OR A$<>"4" OR A$<> "5" THEN
GOTO 3070

Statement 3160 will only permit use
of numbers between 1 and 5.

I have deliberately steered clear
of using CLS (clear screen) very

much for now. The CLS is a very
handy command in programming. when
ever you need a clean slate to
write or draw on, enter a CLS
command in the program. Experiment
a little.

Next month, we will number our
problems, limit our loop to ten
problems, give the number out of
ten correct, personalize our
program and start our logo, smiley
face .

Bill Woodward

Tasword II Improvements

This program will allow you to
change the screen and ink colors
in the Tasword II word processor
from BASIC to your own choosing.

Up till now, if you go into basic
and change the BORDER, INK, and
PAPER to your own colors, as soon
as you return to Tasword, only the
paper and ink stay how you set them
while the border and bottom menu
revert back to the original black
on white.

To make the changes, load Tasword
and go into basic by using STOP,
press b then ENTER. Enter the
following lines;

9000 POKE 58488,201

9010 POKE 58598,201

9020 POKE 59987,201

9030 POKE 64568,64: POKE 64569,0

: POKE 64570,0

9040 POKE 64840,58: POKE 64841,1
91: POKE 64842,90: POKE 64844,19
2: POKE 64845,90

Once these are entered, go back and
carefully check that all the
numbers are correct and then enter
GO TO 9000. Now enter DELETE 9000,
which will remove these lines
(don't forget the comma). Return to
Tasword by pressing RUN ENTER and
go back to the menu by pressing
STOP and select the save Tasword
option to save these new changes.

To change screen colors, simply
select the into BASIC option and
type in your choice of BORDER, INK,
and PAPER colors.

Instead of going into basic, you
could incorperate extra lines into
the menu and have it ask you for
your selection or if there is a
combination you want to stick with,
enter them into say, line 5 such
as :

5 INK (color): PAPER (color):
BORDER (color): CLS

Now Edit line 15 to say GO TO VAL
"5" Instead of GO TO VAL "10".
Save any changes you make. Enjoy
your enhanced version of Tasword!

Peter Orvis

Tax Time . . . and Some Help

Here it is just one month be-
fore income tax filing time and, if
you are like me, you could use a
little (or a lot) of help preparing
your tax forms. For those with TS
2068s there is help available in
the form of SPECTAX85 from Poret-
sky and Poretsky, 521 Argyle Rd.,
Brooklyn, NY 11218.

Retailing for $16.95 ppd., this
program will not put a dent in your
refund check, but will help you
fill out your 1040 and accessory
forms quickly and easily. Spectax
leads prospective filers through
Form 1040 as well as Schedules A,
B, C, D, E, G, R, W, SE and Form
2441.

When the program is first loaded
you are asked if you want regular
or heavy print. Selecting "heavy"
causes an alternate character set
to be used producing heavier char-
acters both on the screen and on
the 2040 printer. To go through the
program, you need to have already
gotten your papers in order and
have copies of all your IRS forms
with you as the program asks you
for data which may require clari-
fication from the respective tax
form. Spectax asks you for entry of
the proper data in the sequence
required by the tax forms, and
automatically does the calculations
which you would normally have to do
manual ly .

At the completion of each form,
a complete one screen reproduction
of all info recorded on that form
is provided so that you may review
it, go back and correct it, and
print it out. This last action is
important since data entered on all
forms except 1040 and A and B is
not saved in memory, only the info
that is transferred back to the
1040 is retained. Your printout
will be your only record of the
specific data you entered on each
of the other forms. This printout
is necessary for filling out your
real forms afterward.

There is 2K of memory reserved
at the top of ram for adding the

software necessary to drive the
Aerco or Tasman interface. This
must be done by the user, as no
documentation is provided explain-
ing in detail that this can be done
or how. In fact, except for one
small sheet included with the cas-
sette, there is no documentation at
all. However, this was not a major
problem as the software is fairly
self-explanatory and very easy to
use by anyone who has ever filled
out their own forms before.

For married filers, Spectax
automatically keeps married filing
separately and married filing
jointly calculations which allows
those in this situation see which
way offers the greatest tax ad-
vantage.

Lackings of the program are no
documentation and no way to save
your results on tape (though you
might try breaking into the pro-
gram after all data entry and save
the whole thing to tape) . But this
is one program that is definitely
better and quicker than using a
pencil and calculator.

My recommendation is that you
buy this program if you fill out
your own tax forms and have a 2068.
Poretsky & Poretsky, Inc. is a tax
firm with many years experience and
it shows in the ease with which
this program helps you file your
tax return.

— Richard Cravy

Beginner’s Programming, III

This month, let us first person-
alize our program. Clear the screen
and ask yorr student to type his
name. The name is ENTERed into a
string variable and can be used any
place in the program by calling the
string variable.

3000 CLS

3005 PRINT AT 10, 4;"<— type you
r name — >"

3010 INPUT "your name";f$

3050 CLS

3060 PRINT AT 4,8; "Hello, ";f$

-Note- The 2068 lets you enter a
prompt in your input statement in
line 3010. I will use this format
in the future. If you are using a
1000 series just ignore the prompt.
Have you given numbering the pro-
blems any thought? A variable needs
to be assigned and initialized to
do our counting for us. Tell the
computer where to place the number.
Since we need to add 1 to our
variable for each problem, let's
start our variable value at 0. We
also need a clean screen for each
problem.

3040 LET c=0
3350 CLS

3340 PRINT AT 3,2; "No. ";c+l
3370 CLS

This line clears the number with
the problem. EDIT line 3380.

3380 PRINT AT 3,2; "No. ";c+l; AT
6, 0 ; x ; " + " ; y ; " = ";z
3430 LET c=c+l

The correct answer routine works
with the numbering routine and
allows us to give the number of
correct answers out of a given
number. Assign and initialize a
variable; decide number of problems
to a series and increment the
answer number.

3020 LET a=0

3330 IF c=10 THEN GOTO 1200
3440 LET a=a+l

The routine at line 1200 not only
gives the number correct but also

reinitializes the variables and
asks if the student wishes to prac-
tice more.

1200 PRINT AT 10, 6; "You got";a;"
out of ten."

1210 LET c=0
1215 LET a=0

1220 PRINT AT 12,3; "Would you li
ke another play?"

1230 PRINT AT 14,3; "press y or n
followed by ENTER"

1240 INPUT "y/n" ; b$

1250 CLS

1260 IF b$="y" OR b$="Y" THEN

GOTO 3070
1280 CLS

1290 PRINT AT 8,5; "Thank you for
playing, "; AT 10,5;f$

1300 PAUSE 200
1305 CLS
1310 STOP

You can EDIT the lines to the other
parts of the program where they are
needed.

Next month we will start on our
LOGO. There is a smiley face if the
answer is correct and a frowney
face if the problem is wrong. Every
child of any age that I . have used
this program with has enjoyed the
fast feedback on his or her
answers. Some have deliberately
answered wrong just to see the
frowney face develop.

— Bill Woodward

Beginner’s Programming

(Part IV)

This month we will start tying a
lot of loose ends together. Since
the TS-1000 and the 2068 use dif-
ferent commands to draw the face,
we will start wirh the TS-1000:

850 GOTO 3000
852 SLOW

855 FOR N= 1 TO 20
860 PLOT 15*SIN (N*PI / 10 ) +3 3 , 1 0
*COS (N*PI/10) +22
865 NEXT N
870 STOP

RUN this part of the program. In
line 860, try swapping 10* and 15*
and RUN or use 10* twice and RUN.
Use the face you like best. Now
lets add the eyes, nose, and mouth:

870 PLOT 28,26
875 PLOT 38,26
880 PLOT 31,22
885 PLOT 34,17
890 PLOT 33,17
895 PLOT 32,17
900 PLOT 31,18
910 PLOT 35,18

On the 2068, we use:

850 GOTO 3000

860 CIRCLE 120,88,40: CIRCLE 12

0 , 88,2

880 CIRCLE 105,98,5: CIRCLE 130
,98,5

890 CIRCLE 105,98,2: CIRCLE 130
,98,2

900 PLOT 104,78
910 DRAW 30,0, .8*PI

On both models add:

920 PRINT AT 8 , 0 ; "CORRECT , " ; AT
10 , 0 ; F$

930 PAUSE 300
935 CLS
940 RETURN
950 STOP

3390 IF X+Y=Z THEN GOSUB 860
3350 PRINT AT 6 , 0 ; X ; "+ " ; Y ; " = ?"

That "draws" a smiley face when

ever a correct answer is given. For
wrong answers, the following rou-
tine "draws" a frowney face on the
screen. First the 1000:

1000 FOR N=1 TO 20

1005 PLOT 15*SIN (N*PI/10) +33 ,10

*COS (N*PI/ 10) +22

1008 NEXT N

1010 PLOT 28,26

1015 PLOT 38,26

1020 PLOT 33,22

1025 PLOT 35,16

1030 PLOT 34,17

1035 POLT 33,17

1040 PLOT 32,17

1045 PLOT 31,16

For the 2068:

1000 CIRCLE 120,88,40: CIRCLE 12

0 , 88,2

1020 CIRCLE 105,98,5: CIRCLE 130
,98,5

1030 CIRCLE 105,98,2: CIRCLE 130
,93,2

1040 DRAW -30,0, .8*PI
On both models:

1150 print at 8,0;" TOO BAD, ";A
T 10 , 0 ; F$

1160 LET A=A-1
1170 PAUSE 300
1180 CLS
1190 RETURN

3400 IF ZOX + Y THEN GOSUB 1000
3410 IF ZOX+Y THEN GOTO 3350

This last part is your examina-
tion. The first 19 lines of the
program are duplicated for the
other model. The object of this
test is to sort out the lines for
your computer. For the TS 1000, you
raay have to split up some lines,
like line 1C. Remember that the
program autoruns on line one.

10 CLS : PRINT AT 2,10; "SMILEY
FACE"

20 PRINT AT 20,10; "BILL WOODWA
RD"

30 PRINT AT 10,1; "PUBLIC"; TAB
25; "DOMAIN"

40 BORDER 3: PAPER 6: INK 0
50 FOR M=0 TO 30: PRINT AT 0,M
; " + " : NEXT M

60 FOR N=1 TO 20: PRINT AT N,0
NEXT N

70 FOR 0=0 TO 31: PRINT AT 21,
0;"-": NEXT 0

80 FOR P=1 TO 21: PRINT AT P,3
1;"*" : NEXT P

90 CIRCLE 112,98,5: CIRCLE 137
,98,5: FLASH 1: CIRCLE 112,98,2:
CIRCLE 137,98,2

100 FLASH 0: PLOT 111,78: DRAW
30,0, . 8*PI

110 CIRCLE 127,88,50: PRINT AT
10,15; "B"; AT 11,15? "Y": CIRCLE
127,88,2

120 CIRCLE 48,32,20: PLOT 48,32
: PLOT 43,37: PLOT 53,37: PLOT 4
3,25: DRAW 9,0, .8*PI
130 CIRCLE 207,32,20: PLOT 207,

32: PLOT 202,37: PLOT 212,37: PL
OT 203,25: DRAW 9,0,.8*PI
140 CIRCLE 48,143,20: PLOT 48,1
43: PLOT 43,148: PLOT 53,148: PL
OT 43,140: DRAW 9,0,.8*PI
150 CIRCLE 207,143,20: PLOT 207
,143: PLOT 202,148: PLOT 212,148
: PLOT 202,140: DRAW 9,0,.8*PI
170 PAUSE 200

180 FLASH Is PRINT AT 20,5; "PRE
SS ENTER TO CONTINUE"

190 PAUSE 0: FLASH 0

And . . .

50 SLOW

60 FOR N=1 TO 20

70 PLOT 15*SIN (N*PI/10) +33,10
*COS (N*PI/10) +22

80 NEXT N

90 PLOT 28,26
100 PLOT 38,26
110 PLOT 33,22
120 PLOT 35,18
130 PLOT 34,17
140 PLOT 33,17
150 PLOT 32,17
160 PLOT 31,18

Programmer’s lint: on the TS

1000, use a FOR - NEXT loop instead
of PAUSE. The FOR - NEXT loop gets
rid of the flickering that PAUSE
causes. For example, instead of
PAUSE 1000, use:

FOR N=1 TO 1000
NEXT N

improvements, please send them to
SUM Magazine. There are a lot of
ways to improve this program. Most
young people that I have shown this
to have really enjoyed it with the
positive feedback it provides to
the proper answer.

— Eill Woodward

NEWS AND NOTES'

E-Z KEY has just announced that
they now have available a keyboard
interface module that allows a
keyboard to be plugged into the
rear expansion connector on your ZX
81/TS-1000/TS-1500 or the 2068. The
module will allow you to add a
keyboard, joystick, or numeric
keypad. It comes complete with a
keyboard schematic. They have a
KBI-1 for the TS-1000 and the KBI-2
for the 2068. Price is $39.95 + $2.
95 s&h. E-Z KEY, Suite 75A, 711
Southern Artery, Quincy, MA 02169

TS Connection, 3832 Watterson
Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45227; 513-
271-5575 Has the 2068 technical
manual for immediate shipment for
$25 + UPS charges.

Most major Wilson department
stores in Florida still have the
2068 and 2040 printer + 4 software
tapes for $149. Few, if any, still
have the 2068 alone for $69. Stores
we know for sure that have them are
in Tallahasee, Jacksonville, Day-
tona Beach, Orlando, and Tampa. Un-
fortunately, they won’t ship them
out. You must walk in to get them.

This completes the
"SMILEY FACE". If you

program,
make any

A &. J Microdrive Review

Its been out for three months now,
its easy to use, and its fast! The
A & J Microdrive has been a long
awaited peripheral which is the
best thing to come along since the
2068 itself!

The drive is housed in an at-
tractive 23/4x4 3/4 x 7 inch
black case and is connected to the
interface by a 16 inch ribbon
cable. The interface looks like the
old Memotech interfaces for the
ZX81. It measures 2x6 3/4 x 3/4
and has an expansion card edge out
the rear and another card edge out
the top for a soon to be released
printer cable. Also out the rear
are two sockets designated for
drives 0 and 1.

Up to 2 drives can be connected
at once with a simple POKE to
change -the drive you want to
access. The drives are accessed the
same way as a cassette is, by LOAD,
SAVE, and VERIFY. One of the nicest
features of the drive is the fact
that it takes up no user RAM. The
Sinclair microdrive and Rotronic's
wafadrive both use a good bit of
memory for their operating system
which means that some programs
cannot be transferred over to wafer
due to the amount of memory they
take up.

The "0" symbol as the first
character in a file name signifies
to the computer that the micro-
drives are to be used instead of a
cassette. Example: LOAD "@star"
Loads a program named "star".

When getting started, the first
thing that must be done is format
the microwafer; this must be done
to all microwafers before they are
used. Once done, it need not be
done again unless you want to erase
all information on a wafer.

Once formatted, the wafers are
ready for use. SAVEing a file is
done by giving each file a number
starting with 1, then 2, etc. It is
important to remember that you must
save the files in order. You can't

save file 4 when you have never

saved a file 3 on that particular
wafer. Typically, you have nine
files you can save on a wafer
(1-9) , but more can be saved per
wafer, if needed by following the
instructions provided in the
addendum to the User's Manual. A
typical save instruction would look
like this: SAVE "01, sample". It
means save the file named "sample"
as file #1 on the microdrive.

You have all the load and save
options as you do with cassette,
but the filename can be no longer
than 7 characters. To load a pro-
gram, you must always give the
entire file name. LOAD "" or LOAD
"0" won't load the first file it
finds like with cassette. Here is a
typical command: LOAD "0sample".
Notice you don't have to remember
the file number on loads. You can
have the microdrive and cassette
connected to the computer at the
same time and access them both.

To see what is on a wafer, use
LOAD "0". This will cause the drive
to look for a non-existent file and
list all files searched to the
screen. When resaving a revised
file, you must make sure that the
revised file is no longer than the
first version of that file, or you
may write over the first part of
the next file (if any) saved.

If you are planning to revise a
file and want to save other files
thereafter, create a dummy variable
and dimension it to a length that
will cover any future revisions.
Use something like DIM x(1000) then
save the file and any others after-
wards. This will set aside extra
room for future revisions. Just
make sure that you CLEAR this
variable when you go back and add
to that file. Always try to keep
track of how many bytes you have
used in your program by using the
FREE command. Of course the obvious
solution to all of this is to store
only one file per wafer. Use short
wafers. This will also cut down on
SAVE and LOAD time. The 20 ft wafer
holds 28K which is more than enough
for any one single program.

Now for a speed test. Formatting
takes the longest since the drive

searches for the splice in the
"endless tape" and writes a end of
file mark, and then goes thru the
tape again and marks the other end;
then it knows where to put a file
without writing over the splice.
Formatting can be used to erase the
whole tape. Formatting a 35 ft.
wafer takes 1 minute 18 seconds.

Saving a full 48K (capacity of a
35 ft wafer) takes 43 seconds and
loading takes 48. Of course this
was under ideal conditions because
I ended just before the file began,
so upon loading, the file was right
there. If the file you wanted has
already been passed, you would have
to wait for the drive to search
through the entire tape before it
found the file you are seeking. In
more understandable terms, I can be
up and running Tasword in less than
25 seconds! See Tasword to wafer
conversion in this issue. With the
speed about 6 times that of a stan-
dard cassette, LOADing a SCREENS is
fun; it takes 5 seconds!

You can protect a wafer by
knocking out the write protect tab
on the side. An error code of 0,
Invalid Stream, is reported if you
try to SAVE to a write protected
wafer . You can also get an error
code when you try to save a file
when there isn't enough room on the
wafer, when you use an invalid file
name, when there is a tape loading
error and when you press BREAK. And
you get the satisfying 0, OK report
for a successful operation.

A ribbon cable and software for
word processing should be available
by the end of March according to
Jim Howell of A & J Microdrive. The
kit will have a centronics printer
cable, software on wafer, and an IC
chip which must be installed; the
kit will sell for $49.95.

If you feel like experimenting,
the parallel port is mapped to port
66 of the 2068. The signal pins are

visible from the front and starting
at finger marked 25 are STROBE,
DATA 1-8, unused finger, BUSY. The
rest on the front side are unused.
The backside fingers are grounds
except 2 which has no connection.
Jim also told me that they are

negotiating the buying of Entrepo,
the company that manufactures the
wafers which should help in
bringing down the prices on wafers
(now average around $4.50 each).

I dread the times when I load a
tape on my ZX81 or 1500; now I also
dread the times when I have to use
a cassette on the 2068! I have been
quite pleased with my drives so
far, and even at $200, a good deal.
They are the only microdrives out
right now which operate in 2068
mode. The others all require a
Spectrum emulator. I do wonder . why
the units are black! Why can't it
be silver like the rest of the 2068
line? That goes for any interfaces
that come out for the 2068.

— Joe Williamson

FOOTE

SOFTWARE

SPECTRUM ROMs $ 17.00

The SPECTRUM ROM allows your TS2068 to run 99%
of all Spectrum 48k software. Just swap out your pres-
ent ROM or build the ‘'Spectremulator” described in the
August & September issues of SUM Magazine.

Spectrum ROM Software

Fighter Pilot $14.95

Faster than Flight Simulator/includes air combat!

Jet Set Willy $13.95

Manic Miner $13.95

Fast action arcade maze games! Works on both
Spectrum and 2068 (we tell you how!).

TS2068 ROM Software

Badgammon $15.00

U.S.A. (Presidents/States & Capitols) $12.95

Calorie Counter $ 12.95

Advanced Math (Calculus) $ 12.95

ZX81/TS1 000/TS1500 Software

U.S.A. $ 7.95

Calorie Counter & 7.95

Advanced Math $ 7^95

Tic-Tac-Toe/Hangman $ 7.95

Add $1.00 on all orders for shipping/handling

FOOTE SOFTWARE
P. O. Box 14655 — Gainesville, FL 32604-4655
904/462-1086 6-9 p.m. EST

Hardware/ Software

User Defined Graphics for
the TS-1000

Your own custom graphics for
less than $10? With just three IC
chips, and a few extra parts, you
can add a modification that allows
you to change all 64 of the stan-
dard ZX/TS characters. To better
understand the modification, we
need to take a look at how the
ZX/TS displays characters.

To generate a display witn a
minimum of parts, the ZX/TS uses a
complex interaction of hardware and
software. For our purposes however,
we just need to know how a char-
acter is generated.

Character pattern data is stored
in the system ROM in locations 7680
to 8191. These 512 bytes are divi-
ded into 64, eight-byte sections,
i.e., one character per 8 bytes.
This pattern data is like an 8 X 8
matrix with the rows being the
memory locations, and the columns,
the bit locations. For example, the
bit pattern for the graphic char-
acter on key one is shown below:

Location

Byte

Decimal

7688

11110000

240

7689

11110000

240

7690

11110000

240

7691

11110000

240

7692

00000000

7693

00000000

7694

00000000

7695

00000000

If you PEEK these locations,

you

will get the

decimal

number .

convert from

binary to

decimal ,

add

the proper weighting if

a one

found. For

example

, decimal

240=1*2~7 + 1

*2~6 + 1*2

~5 + 1*2~

This pattern of l's representing
dots holds except for the shaded
characters (codes 8,9, and 10).
Shading is indicated by a decimal
170 in the pattern location.
Inverse characters (codes 128 to
191) are derived from the first 64
characters .

While in the display mode, the
Sinclair logic chip (ULA) addresses
the system ROM directly to obtain
the pattern data. This is the
reason for the nine IK ohm series
resistors (R18 - R26) on the ROM
address lines. Because of the
resistors, we must use these lines
(AO' - AS'), and not the address
lines found on the rear edge
connector. When the ULA wants
pattern data, it pulls ROMCS low.
This line is connected through a
680 ohm resistor (R28) to ROMCS',
which is connected to pin 20 of the
ROM. ROMCS' is also available on
the rear edge connector.

When our custom graphics circuit
is switched in, and addresses 7680
to 8191 are used, the output of the
74LS30 goes low and enables the 2K
X 8 custom graphics RAM. This also
pulls ROMCS' high, through the
inverter and diode, to disable the
system ROM. With the RAM switched
in, we can change the contents to
create our own pattern data.

I built the custom graphics
circuit on a small Vector board. A
24-pin wire wrap IC socket was used
with the pins sticking through the
board. This way, the vector board
can be plugged into the ROM socket,
and the ROM plugged into the wire
wrap socket. If you have space
limitations from other modifica-
tions, ribbon cable brought out of
the rear edge connector slot will
work as well. Don't get ROMCS from
the ULA confused with ROMCS' found
on the other side of R28. Care
should be used when handling the IC
chips, and when soldering on the
computer circuit board.

When the circuit is built and
checked for proper connections,
turn on the ZX/TS. With the custom
graphics off, the computer should
work normally. When the graphics
RAM is switched in, the screen
should fill with black verticle
bars. This is because the RAM needs
to be initialized. With the custom
graphics off, type in:

10 LET Y=18000

20 FOR X=7680 TO 8191

30 POKE Y, PEEK X

40 LET Y=Y+1

50 NEXT X
FAST
RUN

Note that this is for 16K users.
Now edit line 30 to read:

30 POKE x, PEEK y

7690

00000111

7691

00001111

7692

00011111

7693

00111111

7694

01111111

127

7695

11111111

255

Switch in the graphics and then
RUN. When finished, you should be
able to switch the custom graphics
in and out and see no difference on
the screen. The custom graphics is
now ready for use.

As an example, replace the
graphic character on the 1 key with
a right trianyle. The pattern
location for any character will be
from 7680 +(CODE"n")*8 to 7680

+ (CODE"n" ) *8+7 , where n is any
character you wish to replace.

Location Byte Decimal

7688 00000001 1

7689 00000011 3

Just POKE in the decimal numbers
at the specified locations. In this
way, any character can be made. Two
or more characters can be used next
to each other to create many more
new patterns. Note that when you
turn the computer off, you will
lose your new characters. You can
save your new characters by storing
them in a REM statement, or in
variables .

Next month I will list a program
that will allow you to build your
characters on an 8 X 8 grid and
then automatically convert them
down to a single character.

— Dan Fagen

H ardware/ Software Project

User Defined Graphics for
TS-1000, Part II

Here is the program for the TS-1000
which will generate and store your own
characters into the custom graphics board
as described in last month's issues

10 REM + + * CUSTOM CHARACTER GE
NERATOR ***

20 REM
30 REM
100 LET 5=0

105 PRINT AT IS., 0, "INPUT CHAR AC
TER TO BE REPLACED"

110 INPUT E$

115 LET C=7530+ (CODE E$3*S
120 PRINT AT 13,0.;"

I 1

125 PRINT AT 20,S;E$

130 LET 5=5+1

135 FOR X =3 TO 10

140 PRINT AT X , 11 : " 8— ^"

145 NEXT X

1*0 LET 0= (PEEK 1S39S+256+PEEK
15397.1 +144
155 LET Y = 0
150 POKE Q , 172
175 REM

3 00 P R I NT AT 12,0;" U S E ARP 0 i.,1 K E
YS ; 0 MOUE IS, USE ENTER TO SET
A DOT (ABOUE THE @) "

310 PRINT Ai 14,0; "TO DELETE A
DOT , MOUE CURSOR OUER DOT , TO
STORE A CHARACTER, PRESS Z”

400 1!- COD* ( INKEY $3 =35 THEN GO
SUE 500

410 IF C 0 D * (I N K E Y $) =34 THE N G H
SUB 500

420 I r C 0 D * ( I N K EY $ 3 = 3 3 THE N G 0
i’iJB 70S

430 IF CODE (INKEY $3 =35 THEN AO
SUB SCO

_440 j.r COD* (INKEY $3 =113 AND RE
*K (Q-33) =3 i H*N POKE (0-33) ,123
4*0 Ir COD* (INKEY $3 =63 THEN AO
! 0 1000
450 GOTO 400
470 REM

*00 R*M + MOUE CURSOR RIGHT *
510 POKE 0,3

*20 IF Q-Y >20* THEN POKE 0-0
*30 IF P * * K (0 + 13=3 OR PEEK fO +
l- 1 =123 OR 0 -Y >230 AND 0-Y<23fi th
EN LET 0=0+1
540 POKE 0 , 172
550 RETURN
550 REM

500 R*M + MOUE CURSOR DOWN *

610 hOK* 0,3

5=0 Ir 0 - Y <230 THEN LET 0=0+00
530 POKE 0,172
540 RETURN
550 REM

700 R*M * MOUt CURSOR LEFT +

7i0 t-’UK* 0,3

720 Ir 0 -Y > 205 THEN POKE 0,0
7*0 xr PtEK (0-13=8 OR PEEK (Q-
+ i, = i 4 8 OR 0 -Y >231 THEN LET 0=0-1
7 4 1? POKE 0,172
7*0 RETURN

760 REM

300 REM * MOUE CURSOR UP *

310 POKE 0,3

820 I F 0 - Y > 230 THE N P 0 K E 0 , 0
330 Ir PEEK (0-33 3 =3 OR PEEK (fi
-33) =123 THEN LET 0=0-33
340 POKE 0,172
850 RETURN
350 REM

1000 REM * CHARACTER LOADER *
1010 PRIN ! A ; IS , 0; "... CHARACTER
IS BEING LOADED..."

1020 LET U = 193 + Y

1030 LET A =Y-33

1040 FOR X =A TO W STEP 08

1050 LET T = 7

1050 LET S =0

1070 FOR 0=0 TO 7

1030 LET M=PEEK (X+03

1090 GOSUB 2000

1100 NEXT 0

1110 POKE C,S

1120 LET C=C+1

1130 NEXT X

1140 POKE 0,0

1150 GOTO 105

1150 REM

2000 Ir M = 12S THEN LET U=2 + * i'T)
2010 IF M = 123 THEN LET S=S+U '
2020 LET T =T -1
2030 RETURN

tstoddfe

Sinclair/Timex
User’s Magazine

Hardware Projects • Hardware Reviews/
Software Reviews • Product Comparisons
Published Monthly •^todUssues Available
Free Personal Ads for Subscribers

SUM Magazine i:

want to learn wh
do things n6 on<
horizon Exampl
your own Specti
reviews on word
monitor to your
TS1000 and ZX81 a

aimed fet Sincl
available for
e is doing,
recent artii
ula(or;

imex users who
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id a series on repairing your
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SUM Magazine mvites v, aTficles, reviews, and projects for
possible publication. We pay for articles published?
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their ppaducts foiNqyiew.

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SUM Magazine

3224 NW 30 Avenue — Gainesville. Florida 32605

Software Review

Rocket Man

1. Diamonds

2. Sea

3. Platforms

4. Ladders

5. Fuel Cans

6. Rocket 1 1. Fuel Gauge

7. Vulture 12. Men remaining

8. Leg of Lamb

9. Player
10. Bubloid

This TS-1000 (16K) game is truly
one that makes you wonder why you
put aside this computer for bigger
and better things. It uses high-res
graphics equal to that of the 2068!
And just as fast, all under soft-
ware control — no modifications
needed .

The idea is to gather as many
diamonds as possible by going over
shark infested waters and trying to
avoid a bubble which keeps trying
to get you in it and dumping you
into the sea below (something like
the old "The Prisoner" TV show) .
The only way to get over to the
diamonds is by jet pack. Before you
can use the jet pack, you must
gather sufficient fuel for the
journey. I found that you need to
collect about 4 cans just to make
it across the ocean. A fuel gauge
tells you how much you have left.

There are six stages to the game
with a different platform layout in
each game. Each platform has a
ladder that extends to the next
platform (similar to Donkey Kong) ,
and on random platforms are the
fuel cans you must collect. In
stages 4-6, the jet pack changes
into a vulture, and you must
collect leg of lambs instead of
fuel cans (to feed the vulture) !
With each stage, the bubble homes

in on you much faster, so you must
keep moving to avoid it.

The Q and Z keys move you up and
down the ladders respectively, and
the B and M keys move you left and
right. The A key makes you jump to
avoid the holes in the platforms
and to provide thrust while flying
around with tne jet pack or vul-
ture. If you prefer other keys, you
can define your own at the begin-
ning of the game. A pause key is
also available.

I was very impressed with the
graphics in this game and the
response to the keys was very
quick. I understand that there are
quite a few games out now that have
the hi-res under software control ,
but this is the first that I have
seen. A must for the devoted ZX 81/
TS 1000 fan.

ROCKET MAN is available from Curry
Computer, 5344 W. Banff, Glendale,
AZ 85306; 602-978-2902 for $10.95

ppd.

— Joe Williamson

Ted them you saw it in SUM

T m S Mmrnmnj’

Each issue brings you 32 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware
projects, and applications for your computer. T-S HORIZONS
features nationally known authors like Paul Hunter, Gordon
Young, and others. The price is ONLY *15.00 for a full year
<12 issues). AND for a limited time only, new subscribers
will receive our special telecommunications issue (117, see
below) *FREE*with their subscription.

T'5 Hirixinx

sus

IC VIEWS

l—tfi 1 Cmip

IN T-S HORIZONS *7
Byte Back Modem Review
2068 Programming Tips
a Compiler Uorks
'commumi cat i ons
*>r Beginners
V Game Reviews
•cing Globe Routine
Articles By G. Young
and Paul Hunter
Sinclair Info. Network
TS-1000 Power Supply
-and more ! ! !

/5i \

T-S HORIZONS

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sum |

Loading Tasword II on
the A & J Microdrive

Using the A & J Microdrive to
load Tasword II takes less than 30
seconds! But to SAVE the program
and files created by it requires
some modifications to the BASIC
part of Tasword II.

To make the changes, LOAD Tas-
word off tape and choose the BASIC
option. DELETE lines 11, 15, 700

and 710. Now add the following
lines :

15 POKE VAL "23609", VAL "2”: CLEAR
VAL "33279": GO SUB VAL "4000":

LOAD "0 tasword "CODE : CLS : LET a=USR
VAL "59061": GO TO VAL "10"

700 CLS: LET a$= "0tasword" : SAVE
"01 , tasword"LINE 15

710 SAVE "02, tasword "CODE 54784,
10751

1060 IF a$ (1) <>"@" THEN GO TO 1100
1070 LET a$ ( 2 TO )=a$(4 TO )

These changes allow you to use
either cassette or microdrive for
saving files. Just remember to
begin files for the microdrives
with 0 and the number of the file
followed by a comma and the file
name up to 7 characters long. Files
without the 0 will save to the
cassette. (Example: 01, sample)

To SAVE Tasword to microdrive
after the above changes GO TO 1 and
then select the "Save Tasword"
option. Save ' t on a 20' cartridge
with no other files on it.

To LOAD Tasword, type LOAD
"0 tasword" RETURN.

— Joe Williamson

A erco Interface with the
Spectrum Rom

If you have converted your 2068
to a Spectrum and have the Aerco
parallel printer interface, here

are the changes needed to run the
print driver software supplied with
the interface while in Spectrum
mode .

First place your computer in
Spectrum mode and load in the Aerco
print driver software. When loaded,
break into BASIC (don't initialize
it like the program tells you to do
you'll just crash). Once in
BASIC, LIST line 9992 and EDIT. On
line two and three where it says
POKE 26704 and POKE 26703, change
the 26704 to 23750 and change 26703
to 26749. Press ENTER. In the im-
mediate mode (no line numbers)
enter :

POKE 64441,201
POKE 64521,84
POKE 64522,31

Now run the program with GOTO 1 and
choose the initialize routine. You
are now set up to drive your
printer while in Spectrum mode! Be
sure you save this new version.

— Joe Williamson

Converting T extwriter Files
to Tasword II Files

I wished to upgrade a three page
essay that I had written several
months ago on the Textwriter word
processor. The only catch was I am
now using Tasword and preferred
using it over Textwriter. I did not
relish the idea of retyping the
essay, so I scanned the leader of
the Textwriter text code with
HEADSCAN (SYNTAX, Sept 1984) and
noted the address and byte count of
th_ essay. I then scanned a Tasword
text code tape to find the loading
address. The two addresses were, of
course, different. The Tasword text
code is loaded to address 33280.

I loaded Tasword and broke into
BASIC and entered:

LOAD ""CODE 33280

with the Textwriter code in the
tape recorder. After loading, I re-
entered Tasword and much to my
happiness, there was the essay I
had written so long ago.

— Bill Woodward

Portuguese Timex T-2068 Computer
& Timex Disk Drive System:

A Hands-On Evaluation

Timex is still in the home computer
market — in Europe! When Timex bowed out
nere "n early 1984, their computer manu-
facturing -Facilities in Portugal continued
their work, primarily, so everyone
believed, manufacturing -for Sinclair in
England. Apparently, this was only partly
true. Their research and development
department was still at work, perfecting
the products only hinted at before Timex
bowed out.

This issue of SUM is partly devoted to
reviews of these new products. It is our
understanding that Timex in Portugal is
currently selling the computer in Portu-
gal, and has the disk drive system for

sale in both England (for the Spectrum)
and in Portugal . We do not presently have
any undisputed indication that they will
come to the American market. There is also
no connection with the coming QL computer
from Sinclair.

Through the courtesy of Timex in Portu-
gal and the invaluable help and persis-
tence of Bob Dyl of English Micro Connec-
tion in Newport, Rhode Island, SUM has
been able to acquire the following compu-
ter equipment for evaluation: a Timex
single disk drive system, a new version of
the Timex 2068 computer, and a Timex
Emulator Cartridge. None of these products
are presently for sale in the U.S. They

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The keyboard looks the same, except for the name in the upper left corner. The real differences lie inside.

are expected in the future. More details
will given further on in this article.

THE HARDWARE

The Timex 2068 computer appears to be a
Timex/Sinclair 2068 with only the name in
the upper left corner changed. I say,
“appears" because, in fact, it is a dif-
ferent computer in several ways. First is
the fact that the rear edge connector is
not TS-2068 compatible; it is a Sinclair
Spectrum pin-out. Shipped with the com-
puter is one of Timex's small plug-in
cartridges (goes under the Timex Command
Cartridge door on the right hand side of
the computer) which makes the Timex 2068
highly compatible with the Spectrum when
it is plugged in. When removed, the T-2068
runs TS-206J software.

Visions of running the Emulator cart-
ridge on my TS-2068 ran through my head as
well, but investigation shows that the
emulator cartridge has been made tall
enough that it won't fit into the slot of
the American machine; it's just as well as
it turns out, since the Emulator does not
work with American machines.

The case and keyboard are identical
other than the taller slot for the Emu-
lator cartridge. Opening the Portuguese
computer also reveals major differences.
The circuit board is much smaller, and is
dominated by a few large scale integrated
circuits which must incorporate many of
the discreet resistors and capacitors and
other parts on the American machine. The
RF modulator is of a different design, and
the output on our monitors and television
was much “cleaner" and steady. The one
machine we tested did seem to have a
slightly weaker output signal on the moni-
tor than the TS-2068. The Portuguese
computer uses a 9 volt power supply
instead of the 15 volt sold in America.

The disk drive system consists of three
identical sized boxes approximately 5"
wide by 6 1/4" deep by 2 3/4" tall. They
contain the power supply, disk controller,
and disk drive. In addition, the approp-
riate interface is provided which plugs
into the rear of the computer. Three ver-
sions of the interface are said to exist.

Disk drive controller box and plug-in interface

two of which we tested. Versions -for the
Spectrum and the Portuguese T-2068 we ran
through their paces. We have not seen the
interface that adapts the drive system to
the American TS-206S. Various cables also
protrude from the three boxes connecting
the power supply to the controller and
drive. Another cable from the rear of the
controller box connects to the disk drive.
A second coiled cable comes from the front
of the controller and plugs into the
interface.

Having the drive system spread out over
three boxes and an interface is a mixed
blessing. The snarl of cables keeps things
untidy looking in the back, accentuated if
you are also using one or both of the RS-
232 interfaces on the back of the control-
ler box. They are also a bother to pick up
and move. On the other hand, being small
and separate gives you some variety in how
you place them, though the cables which
run between the boxes won't allow t.iem to
be separated by too much. They can be
stacked on top of each other or set up on
a shelf to leave more room on your desk
top.

One real problem is the lack of any
access to the rear edge connector when the
interface is plugged in. This means, in my
case, that I cannot run my printer with
the disk drive since my printer has a cen-
tronics parallel interface. Unless you
purchase a Y-connector, a serial-to-para-
11 el converter, or a serial printer, you

will have the same problem. (An exception
to this is Joe Williamson's Foote Print
printer interface which plugs into the
cartridge slot of the TS-2068. )

UP AND RUNNING

The disk system connects up easily, but
first time users may be a little unsure of
themselves since the manual has no diagram
or picture to accompany the written in-
structions. When powering up, the computer
is turned on first. Then the power switch
on the back of the disk power supply is
flipped on. A prominent red light shows on
the disk drive unit indicating its readi-
ness. A 3" microfloppy comes with the sys-
tem. It contains the disk operating system
designated T.O.S. (Timex Operating System)
and is self booting (loading) when slipped
into the drive slot.

When the disk is inserted, the red
light flickers off and on why the quiet
drive loads the TOS. When booting is com-
pleted, the light goes off, indicating
both that the operation is complete and

How the disk drive system stacks up

that it is now safe to remove the diskette
if another one is to be used. The diskette
itself is enclosed in a rigid plastic case
and has a metal shutter covering all open-
ings in to the magnetic surface. This
shutter slides out of the way when the
disk is inserted in the drive and closes
as it is removed.

The disk drive is a Hitachi unit which
is a wonder of miniaturization. This same
drive was offered for a while in the U.S.
but never caught on, losing out to the
Sony drives used on the Apple Macintosh,
Hewlett-Packard, and other computers. But
it does seem to be quite popular in Europe
as I see it advertised either available
for or actually being used with a number
of different computers there. TOS can han-
dle up to 4 drives, though cabling is only
supplied for two, and an extra power sup-
ply would be necessary. The drive is a
single-sided (SS) model meaning it has one
read/write head and operates on one side
of the diskette. However, the diskettes
can be turned over and the second side
used.

Maximum storage capacity of the disk-
ettes is 160k per side, or 320k each. When
the operating system is saved on a disk,
it leaves 140k of useable space on a side.

Access time, saving, and loading are
fast. I was able to save everything thing
in the memory of the 2068, from address 0
to Ramtop — 64k — in 32 seconds. That comes
to 2k per second. Saving Tasword II on to
disk was simple, practically identical to
saving it onto the A & J Microdrives as
detailed in the April issue of SUM. For
comparison, loading Tasword II off cas-
sette takes about 105 seconds, off A S< J
Microdrive about 25 seconds (once it finds
the beginning of the file) , and off the
Timex disk drive about 7 seconds!

After the TOS diskette boots up, there
is no immediate indication that TOS is in
place. However, the CAT* command will
bring the drive briefly to life and a dir —
ectory of all files available on the cur-
rent diskette will be displayed on the
screen. Saving and loading files is accom-
plished as with a cassette except the com-
mand must be followed by an asterisk (sym-
bol-shift B) . In fact all instructions to
the disk drive must contain the asterisk
or they will either look for cassette or
send the system off to "never never land".
When the computer does "go away", a reset
button on the interface allows a "warm
boot" of the system — that is, you can

Behind the scenes, the inevitable tangle of cables

break in a reset the system without using
the power switch.

SECRETS OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM

The following commands are supported by
TOS, all on the 2068 keyboard: ATTR*,

CAT*, CLOSE#*, MOVE*, DIM*, ERASE*, FOR-
MAT*, GO SUB*, GO TO*, INPUT*, LIST*,
LOAD*, MERGE*, LET*, OPEN*, PRINT*, DRAW*,
and SAVE*. An accompanying article details
exactly what each command does.

The TOS is quite adequately explained
in the manual accompanying the system. It
consists of a 70 page 5 1/2" by 8" book.
There are no photos or drawings in the
manual and only one diagram (reproduced
below). The original was produced on a dot
matrix printer then offset printed. In
spite of this, the text is quite readable.
The book is divided into seven sections:

1. Introduction

2. Setting Up

3. TOS, Part I — basic commands

4. TOS, Part II — working with direc-
tories and Pathnames

5. Random Access and Sequential Files

6. Serial Communication Ports

7. Appendices

A. TOS Command Summary

B. Error Reports

C. Utility Programs

D. RS232C Link Ups

E. Error Trapping

F. Machine Code Tips

The main two failings of the manual are
the lack of illustrations to make things
easier, and the lack of an index which
would greatly simplify locating just the
information you need.

The manual is easy to read, and goes a
good job of explaining several rather com-
plex subjects, such as directories and
pathnames. Further, it has several simple

TIMEX OPERATING SYSTEM (TOS) Commands

Here is a brief description of each one
of the extended BASIC instructions provid-
ed by TOS. Each command is on the TS-2068
keyboard.

ATTR* — must be followed by pathname and
P or U or I or V. Protects or Unprotects a
file (P or U) and makes it invisible or
visible (I or V) to the CAT* command.

CAT* — optionally followed by pathname
to list on screen information on all the
files and subdirectories defined in the
current or pathname directory.

CLOSE#* — must be followed by channel
number between 1 and 16. Closes a file
that was accessed after updating changes
made while the channel was open.

MOVE* source pathname TO destination path-
name — Copies a source file to a desti-
nation file without destroying the source
file.

DIM* — must be followed by a pathname.
Creates a file with the name specified, or
a new directory if ".DIR" is appended to
the pathname.

ERASE* — must be followed by a pathname.
Erases the file specified. Will generate
an "Erase pathname (Y/N)?" for confirma-
tion.

FORMAT* drive name TO disk name — formats
diskette not write protected by red tab on
diskette. Erases all files on one side of
diskette, places a copy of TOS on it, and
names one side of diskette.

GO SUB* — must be followed by pathname.
Saves the current directory, accesses the
specified directory or file, allows execu-
tion of whatever instructions are needed
and returns to original file or diractory
when a ’>RAW* is encountered. Functions
like GO SUB/RETURN.

GO TO* — must be followed by pathname or
drive name. Changes the current directory
to that designated by the pathname. Works
similar to GO TO in BASIC.

INPUT* — must be followed by channel #.
Reads a record from a file. Record number
may be specified allowing random access to
file records.

LIST* — lists information on the current
directory and on all directories stored in
the stack. Information listed includes the
pathname of the current directory, its
level, and the drive being accessed.

When used with a channel number, lists
extensive information about the channel
open to a file including channel type,
mode (input, output, random access or ap-
pend), record length, current record, and
file size.

LOAD* — must specify pathname. Cannot
load a directory; must specify any exten-
sions such as ".BAS" or generates error
report.

MERGE* — must specify pathname. Merges a
disk BASIC program and a program in the
computer's memory.

LET* old pathname TO new pathname — allows
renaming a file.

OPEN#* channel number; pathname; mode —
opens a file and associates a channel num-
ber with it. Also specifies mode and op-
tionally gives record length. Modes are
input (i), output (o) , random access (r) ,
an pend (a).

PRINT* — writes to a file or serial port
using the specified channel number.

DRAW* — is used with the GO SUB* command.

SAVE* — specify pathname. Used similarly
to SAVE in cassette BASIC. If file name
already exists on that diskette, will
prompt that "Filename already exists" and
asks if you wish to overwrite current
file.

programs at appropriate places which
really should be typed in by the beginner
as they illustrate very well the intended
point.

In order to understand how to use and
get around in TOS, it is necessary to know
about DIRECTORIES, PATHNAMES, and TREES.
The opening directory (obtained by CAT*)
when the operating system is -first loaded
is called the “Root Directory". The Root
Directory may list both -files (whether
programs, data -files, etc.) and subdirec-
tories leading to other -files. These dir-
ectories in turn may contain other -files
and/or directories. When the whole filing
structure of a diskette is considered it
is called a TREE. Describing the path from
the Root Directory down to the particular
file you wish to access is called the PATH
NAME. The accompanying diagram taken from
the TOS manual illustrates this concept
very well. The diagram is a map of the
contents of Side A of the Operating System
Disk which comes with the disk system.

•ROOT’ | | -FILE

Such a “hierarchic” structure allows an
orderly arranging of files. Note in the
diagram that Utilities are all under one
directory. Maths under another, and Fun
under a third.

When the disk is first booted, a CAT*
wil. yield the following:

:oemo

Level 0 Drive A

Name

T VP

Size

Alloc

S P

HELP

BAS

11087

Ilk.

MATHS

DIR

3187

FUN

DIR

6651

UTIL

DIR

3075

7 K

filing

DIR

1070

MAX 140K

CUR 33K

REM

1 07K

0 GKf 0 : 1

Compare this to the diagram. The Directory
being viewed is designated first preceeded
by a colon, that is “:DEMO“. This is at
“Level 0“. One Basic program, “HELP. BAS” ,
can be accessed, or four directories.

HELP. BAS may be loaded with LOAD* but
entrance to the directories is possible
using the CAT* (pathname) or GO TO* (path-
name). An example (using diagram) would be
accessing “DICE" by entering GO TO*“:DEMO
: FUN: GAMES". Calling for CAT* would now
show “Level 2" and only two listings in
the : GAMES directory. A total of 16 direc-
tories can be created and maintained on
one side of a diskette. These can be ar-
ranged in practically any way including as
directories inside other directories. In
the diagram, 9 directories exist.

Files within directories are allocated
a minimum of lk of disk space. File names
can be up to 8 characters plus a dot and
a 3 character extension. All of the fol-
lowing are examples of legal file names:

CALENDAR. BAS

CALENDAR. COD

DICE

All file names are automatically con-
verted to upper case characters. TOS auto-
matically assigns “.DIR" to directory
names and n .SCP“ to serial communication
port files. Looking at the listing above
for the directory of :DEMO, there are 2
columns on the right side labelled S and
P. If a file is open at the time a direc-
tory is called for, an “0“ will appear in
the S column. Since up to 16 files may be
open at once for reading and/or writing
from, this column shows which are open and
closed at any given time. The P column
shows if a file is protected. Protected
files cannot be erased (except by FORMAT*)
or written to, only read from. Files are
protected or unprotected using the ATTR*
command. This command also allows files to
La created which are in-'isible to thj CAT*
command.

Though this overview does not do jus-
tice to the TOS, I am convinced that once
this system is available to serious soft-
ware producers, the Timex /Spectrum commun-
ity will see business software far more
powerful than anything possible today. By
using the power of TOS to automatically
open, close, read, write, append, and
create up to 16 different files at once,
powerful databases and complex management
programs similar to those available to IBM
PC users is possible. I use an IBM PC with

its PC-DOS and was immediately struck when
1 read the TOS manual by its similarity to
PC-DOS while being easier to use!

An extensive list of 65 error messages
is used by the system. Each is clearly
explained in an appendix of the manual.
They are quite specific and allow a quick
diagnosis of mistake was made.

At present, four utility programs exist
on the TOS diskette: BACKUP, LOSYS, DUMP,
and LPRINT. BACKUP allows the copying of
an entire diskette, sector by sector, to
another diskette, even if only one drive
is available. LOSYS allows updating to new
versions of the operating system as they
become available without loss of data on
current diskettes. Each diskette has a
version of TOS written to it when it is
formatted. DUMP will dump the chosen file
onto the screen, giving the hexadecimal
bytes for each address and the ASCII equi-
valent. LPRINT activates serial port A on
the back of the controller box so that the
BASIC commands LPRINT and LLIST will drive
a serial printer.

I had no way to check the functioning
or uses of the two serial ports. The TOS
manual provides several pages of informa-
tion concerning opening and closing chan-
nels, transmitting and receiving data,
connecting two Spectrums or T-2068s to-
gether and communicating, etc. It is very
fascinating and the manual makes it sound
very easy.

Two final appendices in the manual ex-
plain the use of error trapping and using
TOS in machine code routines. Error trap-
ping uses two otherwise unused system var-
iables in the Spectrum and Timex: SYSERR

and TRAP. The machine code tips detail
accessing the TOS ROM without crashing the

Additional N otes
of the T-2068

Disassembling the T-2068 reveals a cir-
cuit board smaller than found in the Amer-
ican computer. It is a very professionally
designed board with no wire jumpers. A
stand alone RF modulator replaces the vid-
eo/RF modulator circuitry of the TS-2068.
There are no trim pots or adjustable com-
ponents except for a fine tune in the RF
modulator. By comparison, the TS-2068 has
five adjustable components.

system. Those users who understand machine
code programming will find these 3 pages
of great value.

CONCLUSIONS

The Timex Disk Drive System and TOS may
be the vehicle that can carry both the
Spectrum in England and the 2068 in the
U.S.A. on to their rightful place as stan-
dards in the small computer field. I can-
not imagine any device, peripheral, or
software that Timex or Sinclair could have
introduced for these machines that could
have a greater impact for good than this
system. Once a user has worked with this
disk system for 30 minutes, I do not be-
lieve he/she will truly be happy with any-
thing less!

The system provides for a great deal of
expansion. A notice on the bottom of the
controller box, and mentions in the liter-
ature Timex shipped with the system, show
that CP/M is already able to run on this
setup with the addition of 48k more of RAM
in the controller box. CP/M is the most
popular operating system for 8 bit busi-
ness computers and has thousands of pro-
grams written for use with it.

Here at SUM Magazine we have some of
everything — Microdrives, Wafadrives, cas-
sette, ROM cartridges — and we use them all
at one time or another. It is my opinion
that, should Timex ever decide to bring
this system to market here, and it works
as well as our Portuguese model does, not
only will 2068 owners stand in long lines
to purchase a system, but previous non-
owners will also stand in line to purchase
BOTH the computer AND the drive system!

— Richard Cravy

on the Hardware
& Disk Drive

The integrated chip count is down to 14
from 18 in the TS-2068, and none are soc-
keted. Gone are the ICs which buffer the
address and control lines; gone is the
switching regulator IC, replaced by a 5
volt regulator and a very large heat sink
as found in the Spectrum*. The speaker has
a new chip driving it, the popular LM 386,
and the sound is louder. The SCLD chip
looks the same but following the circuit

Side-by-side comparison of the TS-2068 (left) and Portuguese T-2068 main circuit boards

board traces indicates that it is probably
different — bad news for owners who might
have wanted to swap theirs for thisone.

Th? rest of the components on the com-
puter circuit board are about the same and
in the same general location with the ex-
ception of the 5 volt regulator and the
Z-80 cpu. The ear and mic jacks are like
those on the TS-1000 and Spectrum series;
they are not as sturdy but work fine. The
keyboard has more spring and fewer dead
spots than the TS-2068. The circuit board
itself is stamped "Timex 2068A 1 '; compare
this to my TS-2068 which says "Timex TS
2000". The boards seems to be one model
behind the machines they are in!

The big question is how compatible is
the new T-2068 with the English Spectrum
and the American TJ-2068. The answer is:
VERY! I was able to run M-Script with its
64 column mode as well as Musi col a and
Cyberzone and the computer ran like a
TS-2068. Next I inserted the Spectrum
Emulator cartridge that comes with the
T-2068 and loaded all the Spectrum soft-
ware 1 had. No problems! The emulator
boots up differently than Doug Dewey's EMU
1. Doug's shows first the 2068 copyright
and then switches to the Spectrum copy-
right. The T-2068 emulator boots directly
to the Spectrum copyright notice.

What about hardware compatibility? The

In the middle is the Maxell 3” diskette. Other recording media
include 5 Vi” diskette, ROM cartridge, Wafadrive cartridge, and
regular cassette tape.

T-2068 has a Spectrum edge connector so
should handle anything made -for the Spec-
trum by using the emulator cartridge (Ro-
tronics Wafadrive, Sinclair Interface I
and II). The Timex 2040 printer works fine
as does the 2050 modem and Tasman printer
interface. The Aerco interface works fine
on my printer, but may give problems since
it looks for the RESET line, which is not
in the same location on the T-2068 and
Spectrum edge connectors. Since this line
is for resetting your printer to begin
printing, the same thing may be accom-
plished by simply turning off your printer
and then back on before sending to it. The
FootePrint interface described in SUM in
the January thru March issues does well
and so does the Timex 2020 tape recorder.

I believe the A 4c J Microdrive will
work if a "twister board" is designed to
make the edge connector look like the TS-
2068.

In the May-June issue of LIST (Long Is-
land Sinclair Timex Newsletter, P. 0. Box
438, Centerport, NY 11721) Nazir Pashtoon
also reviews the Portuguese T-2068. He has
already figured out the rear edge connec-
tor pin-outs, specifically those which ex-
tend L eyonu the Spectru i (the T-2068 has
more pins on its edge connector than the
Spectrum, just like the TS-2068). EXR0M,
BE and RGB signals are still present on
this new buss. Missing are R0SCS, SPKR
TAPE OUT, SOUND, 10A5, and EAR. Added is a
stripped sync signal for an RGB monitor
making a direct hook-up to an RGB monitor
possible. Connecting the proper pins to my
Sears RGB monitor gave beautiful results
without having to make any extra circuits.
Pashtoon 's unit apparently was a rough
pre-production unit as it had a "rigged"

color video circuit, extraneous bypass
capacitors, and all its chips in sockets.
Nazir did test the Sinclair microdrives on
his model T-2068 and reported that they
worked perfectly.

Opening all three of the system boxes
shows clean, professionally designed and
produced circuit boards. I only found one
jumper wire.

The power supply is double-fused and
well regulated. Our unit got a little hot-
ter than I like, but did not affect its
operation. It is necessary to always put
it where it can get plenty or air circu-
lation to prevent possible overheating.

Inside the disk controller I found a
very familiar circuit board — the board
from the TS-1016 RAM pack for the TS-1000!
It still has the Sinclair logo and flat
ribbon cable. The engineers were resource-
f ul ! The controller is basically a self-
contained computer, having its own Z-80
cpu, memory (16k + lk) , and lk ROM. For
the two RS-232 ports on its backside, a
UART (universal asycronous recei ver /trans-
mitter) is used. A disk controller chip
and a "mystery" ULA chip completes the
board.

Having the on-board RAM means the con-
troller does not take up any computer RAM.
This enhances software compatibility and
distinguishes it from the Rotronics Wafa-
drive, Sinclair Microdrive, and several
disk drive systems available in England
for the Spectrum. A label on the bottom of
the controller refers to CP/M. Since only
the ROM was socketed inside, perhaps it
will be changed and extra memory added for
CF7M compatibility later.

Inside the disk drive box is a Hitachi
3" drive. The disk unit is very sturdy and
solid looking; I suspect it will be very
reliable. A set of jumpers at the back of
the drive allows configuring the drive as
number 1, 2, 3, or 4 in a system.

The two interfaces supplied with our
unit allowed us to run the disk o.*ive sys-
tem with both the Spectrum+ and the
T-2068. A third interface is promised to
allow the TS-2068 to also run the drive
system. We were able to accomplish this by
using a twister board modified according
to Nazir Pashtoon s instructions in LIST
and then plugging into the T-2068 inter-
face. Voila! Disk drives on the American
TS-2068 !

— Joe Williamson

Hardware/ S oftware R eview

The Rotronics Wafadrive

An inexpensive alternative to cassettes

Those of us with ZXBls and TSIOOOs
remember well the long and doubt-ful load-
ing times o-f our original machines. To us,
the TS2068 with its "-fast" loading time
was almost miraculous by comparison. But
the new soon wore off, and we all cast our
eyes longingly to Uncle Clive and the
Sinclair Microdri ves. Alas, they never got
across the Atlantic be-fore Timex bailed
out.

In recent months we have at last begun
to see our longings realized as micro-
drives, stringy -floppies, and even disc
drive systems have begun to make their
appearance. This month we are going to
look at the ROTRONICS WAFADRIVE SYSTEM.
This system has been a big hit in England,
where it was born, and is now available to
2068 owners with the aid o-f a Spectrum
emulator.

The Wa-fadrive is to be distinguished in
name from the A & J Microdrive and the
Sinclair Microdrive. The Wafadrive has
been nominated by the British Microcomput-
ing Awards committee for "Peripheral of
the Year" and was named "Product of the
Year" by the Computer Trades Association
in England. Many reviews I have read place
it above the Sinclair Microdrive in per-
formance and reliability.

The Rotronics Wafadrive consists of a
black plastic box about 9 1/4" wide by 4
1/4" deep by 3" high. It has a short

interface cable and connector protruding
from its front and three edge connectors
visible in the rear. Two slots in the
front near the top provide access to the
wafadrives and three red LEDs between the
two slots show power on and which drive is
being accessed. The Wafadrive unit uses
the same Entrepo stringy floppy tapes used
by early A & J Model 2000 Microdrives
(later models have a different drive and
tape) .

The Wafadrive plugs right in to a Spec-
trum or Spectrum Plus as it comes from the
box. It can be interfaced to a TS 2068
using the Omni /Emu Spectrum Emulator (will
not work with Romswitch or Spectrum Rom)
and a Spectrum buss converter board. Con-
necting the system, at least to a Spectrum
Plus, is very simple. Only the one connec-
tion to the back of the Spectrum edge
connector is made. The Wafadrive draws its
power from the Spectrum (or TS 2068) and
needs no external power supply.

The back of the Wafadrive provides
three outputs: a Spectrum compatible ex-
tension of the edge connector, a centron-
ics parallel printer port, and an RS-232
serial port. Cables for the non-standard
printer port connectors are available at a
very reasonable price.

Once the Rotronics Wafadrive is con-
nected and the computer is turned on, the
regular opening screen shows the Sinclair

copyright notice. The computer functions
like a normal Spectrum computer. To acti-
vate the Wafadrive Operating System, you
type NEW *. After a very brief flicker of
the screen, the screen shows that the
operating system is in place. Now the fun
begins.

CAT * #A (or B) will give a directory
of the tape currently in drive A (or B)
showing name of file, type of file, size
of file, storage capacity of the wafatape,
and storage space left.

To load a program, type LOAD * "a: file-
name" or simply LOAD *" " if the tape is in
the default drive and has only one file on
it. Saving is SAVE * "a:f ilename". The
minimum size of a file is lk so only 16
files maximum can be saved on the 16k
tapes, and up to a maximum of 32 on the
64k and 128k tapes. Programs are trans-
fered to or from tape at about 2k/second
(18k baud) once the program is located by
the Wafadrive. Maximum time to find a file
is 45 seconds on the 128k wafers and 6.5
seconds on the 16k. The W.O.S. (Wafadrive
Operating System) takes care of where to
place the files and how many there are.
Files do not have to be numbered as with
the A I J drives.

New tapes must be formatted for use
with the FORMAT * command. This is also
useful for erasing a whole tape. Tapes can
be protected from erasure by removing the
write protect tab.

Other, more advanced work can be done
with the file capabilities of the Wafa-
drive reminiscent of floppy disk systems.
For example, random access data files can
be written to and read off the wafatapes,
and commands such as MERGE, MOVE, COPY,
and VERIFY can be used.

The printer interfaces have their own
software on built-in ROM so need no other
software to work in Basic except the OPEN#
command. They both support PRINT and LIST.
The RS-23? can both send and receive at
baud rates between 300 and 19,200. Pin-
outs and sample programming applications
are included in the manual.

The manual consists of a 68 page wire-
ring-bound book about 5" by 5 1/2" in
size. It has both a Table of Contents and
Index, and is very well written and easily
understood. Though not everything you
might ever need to know is found in it, I
suspect that enough information is there
for you to figure the rest out.

Also included with the Rotronics Wafa-
drive System is one blank wafatape and a

word processing program called Spectral
Writer. Spectral Writer resembles and
functions very much like Tasword Two in
many ways. It offers 64 character screen,
352 line text capacity, automatic word-
wrap and justification, page numbering and
headings, tabs, very fast text entry,
"bell" before line ends, programmable
printer codes, etc. It comes with its own
39 page manual also well written and or-
ganized. Its advantages over Tasword Two
are these: it's "free" with the system,
faster keyboard response, tabs, auto page
numbering and heading, and ability to
change screen colors. Its biggest disad-
vantage seems to be that there is no way
gi*'en to change the 64 column line length.
In other words, all lines of text must be
64 columns, no more or less! This makes it
unsuitable (unless someone has the patch
or knows an undocumented command) for
producing anything with narrower columns
such as this magazine article.

The Wafadrive Operating System comman-
deers 2k+ of your computer's memory when
it is booted up with the NEW * command. It
confiscates this memory just above the
System Variables area and below the Basic
Programming area. As a result, some pro-
grams may not fit when using Wafadrives.
Other programs, because they address spe-
cific areas of memory also may not be
compatible with the Wafadrives. We will be
able to report more later on which popular
software does and does not fit. Rotronics
claims to have a list of software that has
been converted to the Wafadrives.

The American distributor of the Rotron-
ics Wafadrive System is Damco Enterprises,
67 Bradley Ct., Fall River, MA 02720;
617/678-2110. Their retail price for the
system for the Spectrum is currently
$165.95. Price for the TS 2068 version
including Omni /Emu and buss converter is
$229.95. Printer cables, either kind, are
$12.95 each. Blank wafers are $3-4 each.
They also offer a number o. games and
other software on Wafatapes at very rea-
sonable prices.

Are they worth the money? You will have
to decide. For a little more money than
the A & J Microdrive, you can get a two
drive system with two printer interfaces
and a word processor thrown in for good
measure. The price is considerably less
than the price of any of the single disk
drive systems being advertised as of this
writing. What would I do? I've already
bought one! — Richard Cravy

Hardware Project

Convert Your TV into a
Computer Monitor

It's not too difficult to convert
any B&W or recent color television
into a direct-video monitor for
your 2068. Being a T.V. technician
by trade, I was not satisfied with
the hashy-trashy display on my new
computer since my old ZX-81 had a
UHF RF modulator and put out a
very clean picture. I found a 12"
B&W transistor junker at the shop
that only needed a fresh CRT , put
in a tube from another abandoned
set and converted it.

The most important fact about
almost all T.V.'s today is that
the CHASSIS GROUND IS NOT EARTH
GROUND. In order to eliminate the
necessity of an expensive power
transformer, the chassis ground is
A.C. ground and can have up to
117 volts A.C. potential to earth
ground. This means we have to use
capacitors for both ground and to
couple video into the set. I found
that 10 mfd was more than enough to
eliminate any tearing in the video
due to the lack of a real ground.
Use 3 or 4 mfd. for the signal
capacitor. I modified my set into a
monitor only, but it is possible
to add a switch to cut off one of
the I.F. transistors and make a TV/
monitor .

Jo c,0w>*f»J+e.r ou~l~

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Start out by using a schematic or
other means and find the video
detector diode and the first video
transistor. The monitor output of
your computer is injected after
the video detector and before the
first video amp. Mount an RCA jack
installed in a plastic card next to
a place where you can cut a hole in
the cabinet . A cardboard template
that fits over one of the controls
that projects out of the back makes

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locating the hole in the cabinet
easy. Mount a terminal strip near
the jack and run the two capacitors
between it and the jack. Connect
one between chassis ground and the
outside of the RCA jack. Connect
the other capacitor between the
center of the jack and the center
of the shielded cable. Run the
shielded cable into the I.F. and
solder the center in the hole left
after you have pulled up an end of
the video detector diode. After you
make certain that both parts of the
jack are isolated, it's time to
switch your computer's cable from
RF to the monitor jack and hook up
the set and see clean direct video.
Now, if the picture is negative and
flipping, the fix is easy. Your set
has negative video so just switch
the connections of the coupling
capacitors. If the signal seems to
be too strong or there are double
images; adding a 10K ohm trim pot
should take care of it. On a color
TV you can re-center the tint by
using the proper adjusting tool on
the burst transformer. If you're
adjusting this transformer, then
the slightest adjustment makes a
huge difference in the tint. If the
color is weak, the ACC/Killer trim
pot will take care of that. I found
that it's also good to disconnect
the speaker and replace it with a
10 ohm 1 watt dummy load.

This conversion works for both B&W
or color sets. I'rn using the 12"
set I modified right now to write
this article. The display on it is
as good as commercial monitors
I've seen being driven by 2068s.

- John Monkus

PARTS LIST

RCA jack mounted on a plastic card
3 to 4 mfd capacitor @ 100 volts
5 to 10 mfd capacitor @ 100 volts
shielded audio cable
5 or 6 lug terminal strip
(optional) 10K trim pot
(optional) 10 ohm 1 watt resistor

5 oftware R eview/E valuation

Pro/File 2068 Filing System
An Outstanding Value

When Tom Woods released PRO/FILE 2068
so long ago, it appeared to be quite a
•file system i-f you could -figure out how to
use all o-f it's features from the meager
instructions included with the program. We
were all promised that a comprehensive
manual was being compiled and would be
shipped to all who ordered P/F as soon as
it was available. So we waited, and we
waited. Finally, after almost a year had
gone by, it came! - it was worth the wait!

The program itself was a sleeping giant
waiting for someone to master it's power
and complexities. The manual is an in-
depth tutorial on its use, enhancements,
and disassembly.

The manual describes the program as
being like an "index card" file system
with each screen of data (record or file)
being a single card. Once the data is put
in each record, you can order them alpha-
betically or numerically and call up any
record of your choice just by entering the
name in that record - as with the card
file. F7F goes it one better by being able
to pull up a record by any piece of
information in that record.

For example: Suppose you have a mailing
list with names and addresses and you want
to bring up a record that had the word
“NEW" in it but you cant remember where
the word appeared in the address. You can
simply enter the word "NEW" and P/F will
go and look for any occur ance of the word
"NEW" and display it on the screen. It may

bring it up as being in the name: I.

NEWTON, or in the address: 112 VINEW00D

AVENUE, or in the city/state line such as:
NEW YORK, NY 10009. I must note here that
it is better to stay in caps mode so that
there will be no mistake between "new",
"New", and "NEW". P/F sees these all as
different words.

The records are pulled up lightning
fast, and once pulled up, you can change
them, print them, or call up the next
record with the same search command.

Search commands can also be mixed so that
you can ask for more than one parameter to
be true before a record is displayed by
separating each search command by the
token "AND". In the previous example,
suppose that we want to display all people
living on “VINEW00D" and also living in
"NEW YORK". We would enter "VINEW00D AND
NEW YORK" in response to the SEARCH
COMMAND? "C" prompt.

The main menu displays several para-
meters such as the number of bytes open
(starts with 28000), the file name, the
line in which ordering takes place, and
the printer format (which lines are sent
to the printer and in what order). The
bottom of the screen contains the menu:
Type "A"to add files, SAVE or LOAD for
SAVEing and LOADing of files, AUTO for
ordering the files and DEFP which allows
you to alter the printer format.

Choosing "A" gives a blank screen with
a blinking cursor in the top left corner
and a sub-menu at the bottom. You can now
enter anything you like in the 15 line by
32 column space provided. The arrow keys
allow you to start anywhere you like and
the sub-menu gives you commands to delete
and insert lines and COPY to your printer.
Also, you can edit existing files from
this menu. You must remember to place the

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same type o-f information on the same line
in each record so that the order command
can always order the correct data.

Once you enter a -file, you will notice
there are spaces between the end o-f your
data and the end o-f your line. Most
databases would see these spaces as data
and save it as part o-f the -file along with
the rest o-f the data in that -file. That
wastes a lot o-f valuable space. In P/F,
those extra spaces are ignored. This o-f
course allows much more data to be saved
as compared to say, VU-FILE.

The manual goes into great detail on
each -function available and numerous
examples are given to help you understand
what is going on. The manual even explains
how the program works in a step by step
analysis of both the BASIC and machine
code programming. Also included are
numerous enhancements to make the program
more use-ful.

Enhancements include: Saving a back up
copy, adding veri-fi cation, how to change a
file name, how to clear your files, adding
an audible tick to your keystrokes, saving
paper by not LPRINTing blank lines,
ordering by more (or less) than the first
five characters, disable auto-repeat in
add/edit mode, go directly to LPRINT from
the edit mode without going through the
main menu, go from edit to next entry
without going to the the main menu,
Autosearch improvement, block delete to
purge specified files, and block sort to
rearrange data.

Personally, I would have liked to have
seen all these improvements included with
the original, but I can understand how all
these improvements would take away from
the storage capabilities of 28000 bytes
(or characters). A definite must for me
are the "Go from edit to next entry
without going to the main menu" and the
"Autosearch improvement" enhancements.

Use c £ a "big" printer requires that
you enter the code for your interface.
Included is code for the Aerco, Tasman,
and all Byte-Back interfaces. Also
included is a "TALLY" routine which allows
you to perform math functions and tab-
ulation on data stored in files.

The only drawback that I could find is
the speed at which it orders. As fast as
the program finds things, I had hoped that
the ordering would be at least as fast.
With about 400 names and addresses in each
file, it took about 30 minutes to order by
Zip Code and print out. Otherwise, I was

very impressed with the friendliness of
the program, its storage capabilities, and
the way it handles files. Of course there
are always improvements that you would
like to add, and the manual's explanation
greatly aids you in any such endeavor.

we had considered finding a new program
to handle our SUM mailing list which would
store more names and addresses. The data
we had was stored in A$ in a matrix format
(200,23,5) and P/F uses d* (28000). From
the manual, I was able to determine that'
each file in P/F was separated by an
asterisk, and each line was separated by a
character code 1. With a short little
program, I was able to convert my data
over to d$ and load it into P/F. You must
make sure that d$ is the first variable to
be dimensioned. I now have all of our list

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on P/F and love it! We needed something
along these lines to help update our
mailing list and to order by zip code,
which is required for bulk mailing.

We needed a few enhancements of our own
to make it fit our needs a little closer.
The first thing I added was the go from
"edit" to next entry without going to the
main menu and the autosearch improvement
given in the manual. I found that it
didn't work just right so I added or
changed the following lines:

5015 LET Y*= INKEY*

5016 IF Y*=" STOP " OR Y*=" STEP
" THEN ON ERR RESET : GO TO 6

ooo

5020 FLASH 0: PRINT AT l,c; SCREE
N* ( 1 , c ) : BEEP . 0003 , 34 : IF CODE
y*< 1 6 THEN GO TO 5100+C0DE y*

Note the BEEP command in the above
line. This works much better than the
enhancement given in the manual. Also,
remove the FOR-NEXT loop at the end of
line 5030. I don't know why its there, but
it slows things down a bit. I also added
the go directly to LPRINT enhancement. One
of my own enhancements is the go from ADD
a file to ADD another file without going
to the main menu". To do this, add or
change the following lines:

1 LET j=0

15 IF j=l THEN GO TO 5000
5016 IF Y*=" STOP " OR Y*="N0T "

OR Y*=" STEP " THEN ON ERR RE
SET : GO TO 6000
6025 IF Y*="N0T " THEN LET J=1

When you are through adding one file
and wish to add another, enter the token:
“NOT " and you are immediately given a new
file to fill instead of going through the

main menu first. This really saves time
when you are adding a lot of new names to
a mailing list.

For our application, we need to have
only current subscribers print out on our
mailing labels. To do this, I use the
sixth line in the file as the date line
which holds the expiration date of each
subscription. 8512 means that December of
this year is the last issue that will be
received. To incorporate this into P/F, we
need the current month and year to be
entered and compared to the current file
to be printed. Also, printer code must be
entered to use a large printer. The
following lines were added or changed:

1 LET j=0: POKE 26703,187: P0
ke 26704,248: INPUT "Enter today
's date (yymm) : "ra*

2 POKE 23658,8

7206 IF E* (4 , 1 ) < >X* ( 1 ) THEN GO
TO 7208

7207 IF E* (4 , 1 TO 3)=X* THEN GO
TO 7210

7208 IF E* (6 , 1 ) =" " THEN GO TO
7230

7209 IF VAL E*(6,l TO 4XVAL M*

THEN GO TO 7230

When ordering of the zip codes is
called, the program now checks to make
sure that each name is up to date before
it is printed. We now have a very usable
program with enough power and storage to
handle us no matter how big we get!

PRO/FILE 2068 is available from Thomas
Woods, P. 0. Box 64, Jeffersn, NH 03583;
603/586-7734. Price is *29.95 + shipping.
Phone orders are accepted with credit
card.

— Joe Williamson

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2068 Graphics for the Beginner

Having purchased a 2068 compu-
ter, I soon found that I would have
to know at least a basic knowledge
of trigonometry if I were going to
make graphics to any degree. Not
having a working knowledge of
trigonometry, nor a desire to go
back to night school to obtain it,
I decided to obtain a book on basic
trigonometry and try and learn it
myse 1 f .

Having the book, and the
computer, and the desire to learn,
the next logical step was to use
the computer to help me learn. The
results of this endeavor are given
in this article. The article is for
others, who like myself, desire to
learn .

The Trigonometry: Trigonometric
functions are based on a circle of
360*. There are three basic
functions :

SIN a = Side opposite
Hypotenuse

COSINE a = Side adjacent
Hypotenuse

TANGENT a = Side opposite
Side adjacent

Simply stated, these are the
ratios of one side to another with
respect to the given angle, a. How
do these affect us when doing
graphics? Inside the computer there
is a number system used to tell the
computer where to plot and draw the

lines. These locations are found by
using the numbers along with a grid
system with an X and Y axis. An aid
for remembering the direction in
which these lines run is: Why (Y)
up and down when (X) across? The Y
axis runs from the bottom to the
top and the X axis runs from left
to right on the screen. A third
axis is called the Z axis. It runs
into the screen in a line of sight
fashion. The point where these
lines cross is called the origin or
vertex. The Z axis is used for
three dimensional graphics.

x l O u a d r a n t s X

So what is the point of all
this? Bear with us a little longer
and you will start to see what this
is all about. We now introduce
some more terms.

The number 3.14159 is known as
PI (pie). The RADIAN comes from
130*/PI. This gives us 57.3*. Going
a step further we have PI/180*.
This is .01745. That is to say,
there is .01745 of a radian in 1*.
Your 2068 uses this system when
calculating parts of a circle.

Dividing 360* by 57.3* we get
6.28, or 2PI . There are two pi
radians in 360*, which is a circle.
The circumference of a circle is
found by: C=2*PI*r where r is the
radius of the circle. Again it is a

ratio. The circumference Is 2*PI
times longer than the radius. The
ratio of the circumference to the
diameter is PI. Wow, did we need
all that? Aren't you glad this is
not a trig, class?

Let us go back to the radius for
a minute. If we extend a line
outward from the vertex on the X
axis, say to the right side, and
then we begin to rotate this line
counter-clockwise. Each time the
line moves through a 90* section of
the circle, it is passing through
what is called a quadrant. The
first 90* is the first quadrant. As
it rotates into the next 90* (on
its way to 180*) it is entering the
second quadrant. When it has passed
through the third and fourth
quadrant, it is back to where it
started from, a full 360*.

x x

ill u 3 d r 3 r i t s

R = 0 TO 3 S O
X =20*51 N a
V = 3 0 * C G :=■ a

Now type the program into your
computer and RUN. When the menu
appears on the screen, enter 1.
This will bring up the graph with
the trig, functions on it. Notice
that the signs of the trig
functions change as the line is
rotated through the quadrants. This
is the effect of the line as it
passes through the quadrants. This
must be taken into account when
designing graphics. If you ignore
the sign changes, you would have a
line going in the wrong direction
at the wrong time!

After saving the main program.
Enter this program into the
computer :

5 FOR A=0 TO 360 STEP 3

10 LET X=SIN(A*PI / 180)

15 LET Y=C0S(A*PI / 180)

20 PLOT 128, 99 .-DRAW X,Y

25 NEXT A

Did you run it? if so, you saw
what looked like a small square on
the screen. Why was it so small? To
see why, we will pi^k a number out
of the 0’ TO 360*, say 30*. The SIN
of 30* is 0.5. Taking the COS of
30*, we get 0.866. Neither one of
these numbers are very large and
they have not traveled very far,
only 30*. Also they have not moved
very far from the vertex. Then we
have another factor to consider,
that of the step value 3.
Therefore, our line is drawn only
once every 3*. If you happen to
know the SIN or the COS value of a
number, you can find the angle by
reversing the trig, function on a
calculator .

What we need is a way to magnify
the drawing so that we can view it
easier. How do we do this? Change
line 10 and 15 to read: ,

10 LET X=30*SIN(A*PI/180)

15 LET Y=15*COS(A*PI / 180)

Now run it. How about that? A
fancy arc! This is what we thought
was a square before. How would you
draw a circle without using the
circle command? Now what if you
want to draw in just the first
quadrant? Back to the magic A.
Change line 10 to read:

5 FOR A=90 TO 270

Try it. As you can see, the
multiplier values of 30 and 15
caused the SIN and COS to be

shifted to an amount great enough
to see the drawing clearly. What we
have here is a way to shift the
size of the drawing up or down in
size. Now that we know how to do
that, how do we shift the drawing
on its axis, that is tilt it?

If you have followed closely
what has been covered so far, you
will have noticed that the SIN and

COS are also a ratio to each other.
As one is affected, so is the
other. That is as long as they
share the same variable.

Remember the quadrants and the
rotating line? Load the main
program again and bring up the
graph. Study the graph until you
understand how these functions
work. Watch the sign changes!

Now load the next program and
watch what happens to the figure:

5 PLOT 0,88: DRAW 255,0:PL0T 1
28,0: DRAW 0, 175

10 FOR A=0 TO 360 STEP 5
15 LET X=25*SIN (A*PI/180)

20 LET Y=75*COS (A*PI/180>

25 PLOT 129,88: DRAW X,Y
30 NEXT A

When you run the program you
will see that the figure appears to
have turned on its axis. We told
the computer to increase the COS
value by an amount in which the
ratio of the SIN to the COS makes
it look like it turned. We have the
trigonometry working for us in much
the same way an artist does his
pencil, with the screen being the
paper .

We have learned how to magnify
our views by simply changing the
value of the SIN and COS by using a
multiplier. By changing the value
of the variable, we were able to
start the drawing at a different
quadrant. Try various combinations
of functions.

Just think of the advanced
graphic capabilities in this
machine which we haven't even
covered here. There will be very
little that you will not be able to
do with it.

We need to mention the third
function, the tangent. On the graph
of the main program is a line
running perpendicular to the X axis
and at the outer edge of the
circumference, this is the tangent.
To see an affect of the tangent,
change line 15 to read:

15 LET X=25*SIN ( A*PI / 1 80) *TAN
A/ 10

You can create some unusual
designs using this function as
well. Type in the following:

5 PLOT 0,88: DRAW 255,0: PLOT
128,0: DRAW 0, 175

10 FOR A=0 TO 360 STEP 5
15 LET X=25*SIN <A*PI/180>

20 LET Y=-C0S <A*PI/180)*2
25 LET Z= 1 0*TAN (A*PI/3>

30 PLOT 129,88: DRAW X,Y
35 PLOT 50,88: DRAW X,Y,Z
40 NEXT A

Now try taking some of the
examples we have given and use your
imagination to see what you might
do with them. Try removing the DRAW
statements and leaving just the
plots. Change values, sign, etc.
You be the artist.

We have tried to present some of
the things that we have learned
along the way. It is hoped that
others will be encouraged to
experiment on their own. There are
unlimited possibilities with this
machine. The graphics are all
there, all you have to do is get
them out.

You might get a book on trigo-
nometry and learn more about it. It
can be a lot of fun trying to draw
these graphics. (Ed's note: Some of
the best designs I came up with was
in the "Dividing PI by Degrees"
section which starts at line 500.
Try using 245 & 90, 245 & 45, and

120 & 240. To watch the graph build
even more, change the 360 in line
510 to something alot higher like
720. )

Andy Centek Jr.

Garden City, MI

(The master program listing is found beginning on page 12)

Master Program Listing to accompany “2068 Graphics for the Beginner”

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A Review of the Sinclair Spectrum Plus

The latest home computer from Sinclair
is the ZX Spectrum*. What sets this
computer ahead of the other Spectrums is
the larger keyboard with extra dedicated
keys. The Spectrum* looks a lot like the
QL small business computer but with a few
less keys and no microdrives attached to
the side.

The keyboard itself has more of the
feel of a "large" keyboard, more so than
the 2068 does. Pull-out legs are also
provided in the rear to prop up the
keyboard at an angle for more comfortable
use. A reset button is located on the left
side to get out of any crash situation or
to start all over.

Dedicated keys include the arrow keys,
the period and comma, quotation mark,
semicolon, true and inverse video, single
key extended mode, caps lock, graphics,
edit, delete, break and an extra symbol
shift key on the left side. One thing that
annoyed me was the placement of the break
key which is just to the right of the zero
key. Most computers have the delete or
backspace key there. Why change it?

The connections on the back are in the
same locations as on previous Spectrums .
In fact, the circuit board inside is the
same as well, so that Spectrum owners can
now buy upgrade kits to fit old Spectrums
into this new case. To carry this a little

farther, you could even fit the TS 1500
circuit board inside this case and it
would work as well, even with the key-
board! Of course the key words don't all
line up, but the alphanumerics are all
correct.

On the circuit board itself, none of
the integrated chips are socketed except
for one of the two ULA chips. Suprisingly,
there are more IC chips than in the 2068,
on a much smaller board.

When you get one of these things, you
need to supply your own power supply. The
power supply that came with the TS-1000
and 1500 works nice as long as you either
change the plug at the end of the cord to
a coaxial type as found on the 2068 with
center negative, or you can mount a new
socket in the computer itself to match the
plug that already exists on the power
supply cord. If you don't have a power
supply sitting around, any of the replace-
ment Atari game power supplies work just
fine on this or any of the ZX 81/TS-1000
or TS- 1500s.

Because the Spectrum is designed to
work on the PAL type TV system, you need
to supply your own RF cable to connect to
a TV with a UHF tuner. The channel for
viewing is around 36; be prepared to
adjust the vertical hold on your set. My
Spectrum gives me a very good picture with

Integrated System

The Wafadrive is a
complete system which
contains the micro interface,
two 128K drives, RS232 and
Centronics ports, all in one
attractively-styled, compact
unit. There is a minimum of
connecting leads and no extra
boxes to clutter the desk top.
Like the majority of profes-
sional systems, the units are
dual drive. This offers the opti-
mum balance between
system flexibility and cost.
Built-in serial and parallel
interfaces allow the direct
connection of just about any
popular printer.

Send a 22cent stamp for
a full color brochure and
information on software and
accessories.

Fast and Reliable

The Wafadrive achieves
very fast loading and saving,
but not at the expense of
reliability. Extensive research
and the use of high grade
materials ensure that the
Wafadrive will give years
dependable operate
integrity is on a pa
floppy disk. The ful.
changeable wafers are avail-
able in three sizes-128K, 64K
and 16K. Low capacity
wafers give faster access.
They are therefore most
suitable for program develop-
ment applications. The high
capacity wafers are suitable
for more general data storage.
Loading rate is approximately
2K per second-almost twice
as fast as similar products.

Spectrum Emulation

The Wafadrive includes
the Omni/Emu Cartridge.

This enables the Timex 2068
to run thousands of Spectrum
programs. The rear edge
connp'^on is compatible

:trum Hardware as
owing use of the
punter.

Wafadrive for the Timex
2068 and the 1 6/48K Spectrum
are available now.

Software

Armed with the com-
prehensive user manual,
blank wafer and word pro-
cessor supplied, you can use
your Wafadrive right away.
There is also a rapidly
growing range of software to
enable the programmer and
games player to exploit the
Wafadrive system to the full.

Mall to: DAMCO ENTERPRISES
67 Bradley Ct.,Fall River, MA 02720
(617) 678-2110

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$ 229 95

ORDERING INFORMATION

Payment can b« made In tha lorm of monay order, check, VISA, or
Mastercard. Personal checks take two weeks to clear. VISA and
Mastercard orders must Include numt>er, expiration date, and
owner’s signature.

Due to the fluctuation In the
International currency, our prices
are sub|ect to change without notice.

DAMCO/ROTRONICS WAFADRIVE

POSTAGE: X5.00 tor Wafadrlves
St per order lor soltware A cables
(no postage charge lor software
or cables If ordered with drive)
MA residents add 5% sales tax

little to no interference (squiggly lines,
grid pattern).

There is no monitor jack on the rear of
the computer, but one can easily be added.
I used a chassis-mount RCA type connector
and drilled a hole next to the RF jack so
that the new jack will fill in the space
between the modulator and the rear leg
assembly. Connect the center pin to the
nearest wire leading into the modulator
(goes into the side center of the modu-
lator). The outer ring goes to the case of
the modulator. This alone gives a good
picture on most monitors. To get a little
brighter, sharper picture, locate the 2.2K
(red, red, red) ohm resistor which is
second from the rear in a row of twelve
resistors just in front of the left side
of the modulator and jump a 4.7K (yellow,
violet, red) ohm resistor across it. If
you get any tearing of the picture, use a
higher value resistor.

Color is another story. Probably the
biggest difference between the TV standard
used here (NTSC) and the one used there
(PAL) is the way color is added to the

picture. The simplest way around it (if
you need color) is to buy an RGB interface
for the Spectrum and use it with an RGB
monitor. The poor man's way is to change
out the color burst crystal. The computer
comes with a 4.43 MHZ crystal which is the
frequency used in the PAL TV system. With
NTSC, the frequency is 3.579545 MHZ, so
run down to your local electronics parts
store and pick one up (Radio Shack sells
them for around $1) and swap crystals out.

Doing this, I get a beautiful blue and
yellow, but other colors are just so-so.
On older Spectrums, all you needed to do
was change out the resistor and capacitor
values in the color circuit to match what
is used in the 2068. Unfortunately, this
new version of the Spectrum marked issue
6A uses a different video processor
(SN94459) and I have yet to get a sche-
matic for it, so we'll have to live with
the colors the way they are for now.

The second crystal can be changed out
to provide a more stable picture. This
crystal is 14MHZ , whereas the 2068 uses a
14.112MHZ crystal. Good luck finding this

-I

other crystal unless you happen to have a
junker 2068 laying around to pull parts
from.

I enjoy using this new Spectrum -
particularly the keyboard. All Spectrum
software runs on it with no problem,
giving you access to over 5,000 programs.

Even now, Spectrums are one of the leading
home computers in England, giving
Commodore, Atari, and others fierce
competition. The Spectrum* is available
now through English Micro Connection in
Newport, Rhode Island.

— Joe Williamson

Additional Notes on the Spectrum Plus

While Joe was busy checking out the
"mechanics" of the Spectrum Plus, I was
looking it over in other ways.

First, the Spectrum Plus comes with an
excellent manual printed in full color.
Only 80 pages counting the index, the User
Guide does not cover as much as the 2068
manual does (no sound synthesizer to talk
about or hi-res graphics) but is packed
with info in a smaller print done double
column with color screen shots and boxes
containing additional information. I found
it much more interesting and enjoyable
than the 2068 manual but cannot evaluate
how a computer novice might receive it.

Convert your T/S 2068 to a SPECTRUM

CA . x rllDGE

YOURS FREE WHEN YOU PURCHASE
ANY FIVE SPECTRUM TAPES FROM
OUR LARGE INVENTORY — WRITE OR
CALL NOW FOR CURRENT TITLES

Sunset Electronics

2254 Taraval Street
San Francisco, California 94116

(415) 665-8330

Many short but colorful graphics pro-
gramming examples are included which
should quickly build confidence in a new
user and impress him that the purchase of
this particular computer was a good one.
Two additional books are advertised inside
the back cover, entitled "Step By Step
Programming" Parts I & II. They are done
by the same company that produced the User
Manual for Sinclair and follow the same
style and format.

Also accompanying the Spectrum Plus is
a cassette tape containing a ZX Spectrum
Plus Keyboard Tutor on Side A and a useful
user-defined graphics generator and a game
(which is actually very good and uses
udg's) on the back side.

TSHk

Each issue brings you 32 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware
projects, and applications for your computer. T-S HORIZONS
features nationally known authors like Paul Hunter, Gordon
Young, and others. The price is ONLY *15.00 for a full year
<12 issues). AND for a limited time only, new subscribers
will receive our special telecommunications issue <f7, see
below) *FREE» with their subscription.

IN T-S HORIZONS W7
Byte Back Modem Review
2068 Programming Tips
How a Compiler Works
T e 1 e c ommum i c a t i on s
for Beginners
Boo 1 ' & Game Reviews

ing Globe Routine
es By G. Young
Paul Hunter
.•r Info. Network
. o—l 000 Power supply
-and more 1 ! '

LMvSi l

is mi n

PI 0 CI 1 BS It .vine 4

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T-S HORIZONS

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CITY

SEND TO i T-S HORIZONS

2002 Summi t St
PORTSMOUTH, OH 45662

STATE, Z1P_

Using the computer keyboard is a mixed
bag. Certainly the keys are a big improve-
ment over the original Spectrum keyboard
(practically identical to the TS-1500).
The keys feel wobbly when you push them
since they are resting on a rubber sheet
with "bubbles", but make at least as good
a contact as the 2068 keys do. The extra
keys on the keyboard are very welcome:
dedicated arrow keys, extended mode key,
and quote, edit, delete, graphics, period
and comma keys. On the other hand, this
keyboard suffers the same problem as the
2068 in placing your right little finger
on the ENTER key when in normal position.
This is one less key than standard type-
writer keyboards and is still distracting
to me even after 1 1/2 years of use. Mak-
ing the problem of key placement more ob-
vious is the space bar, which is only 2/3
as long as that on the 2068. As a result,
a more concentrated effort has to be made
to strike the space bar each time it is
used — and it is the most used key in word
processing. Since arrow keys are placed on
either side, each missed stab results in
either moving up a line or over a space!
On this keyboard the BREAK key has been
placed where we are used to finding the
DELETE key, a real no-no. Overall, the
keyboard rates about 60/40 — the available
dedicated keys slightly outweighing the
inconvenience of the space bar and BREAK.

The Spectrum Plus key surface is 1/2"
taller than the 2068* s and is flat, not
gently sloped as on the American machine.
In order to introduce some angle, two legs
at the rear of the computer can be ex-
tended to raise the rear a further 1" —

Centronics Printer I/F.. $50.00

with 5’ printer cable $69.95

as above + computer cable.. $89.95

Floppy Drive I/F $190.00

+ 5* 5-1/4" drive cable... $199.95

When
A1 1 ow

MENTION YOU ^
AND RF r ~

or dev
4-6

for

IN ’SUM’

\\) DISCOUNT

-t y type of computer
del i very

CALL or Write for free catalog to:

Research Service Labs
P 0 Box 19124 OKC, OK 73144
(405) 745-9322

Phone hr s! 2— 10PM CST Monday thru Friday

there is no intermediate position. I found
both positions, flat or angled, uncomfort-
able, and felt that the height of the
whole keyboard is too high. Those who are
not touch typists and who do not do exten-
sive word processing probably will not
notice.

All the above makes it sound like the
Spectrum Plus is a loser. Not so! The com-
puter looks very elegant sitting on a desk
in its all-black case and hi-tech key-
board. Loading programs can be heard thru
the speaker and this computer is 100% com-
patible with ALL Spectrum software and
hardware, includng the microdrives and new
Portuguese disk drive.

For those who want the ultimate in
Spectrum compatibility, or are looking to
replace an ailing 2068 or move up from the
TS-1000 series, this may well be the ans-
wer. Most hardware and software made just
for the 2068 won't work on it, and some
attention will need to be given to those
areas covered by Joe, particularly a mon-
itor output, since this would allow color
output without crystal swaps.

— Richard Cravy

BEFORE COMPARING PRICES,
COMPARE FEATURES

While other systems may appear to cost less,
none can offer the advantages of the

Wafadrive

DAMCO/ROTRONICS
WAFADRIVE OTHER

Basic Unit $229.95

Second Drive N/C

Centronics Interface N/C

RS232 Interface N/C

Word Processor Program N/C

Spectrum Software Compatible YES

Spectrum Software Emulator

Spectrum Buss Emulator

Storage Capacity

Transfer Rate

Wafer Cost vl O

TOTAL SYS r ^ . . $229.95

$199.50

$124.50

$89.95

$99.95

$48.95

$49.95
$40.00 est.
85K

11.4K Baud
$3.50-4.50

$652.80

ADDITIONAL FL

• Extended Basic 0 \. .dting System

• Selectable RS232 Baud Rate: 110, 150, .,00, 600, 1200, 240,
4800, 9600, or 19200

• Able to run more Spectrum programs than just the ROM
switch or emulator

• Run Spectrum hardware from the rear buss

• Many programs are available on Wafer — many more coming

• Transposer program allowing copying of almost any program
to Wafer (coming soon)

ORDERING INFORMATION

Payment can be made In the form ol money order,
check, VISA or Mastercard. Personal checks take two
weeks to, clear, VISA and Mastercard orders must In-
clude number, expiration date, and owner's signature.

DAMCO ENTERPRISES
67 Bradley Ct.

Fall River, MA 02720

•L,

POSTAGE: $5.00 lor Waladrives. $1 per order lor soil ware &
cables (no postage charge lor soltware or cables il ordered
with drive). MA residents add 5% sales tax.

Monitor Output for the TS-1000 & 1500

I have had numerous requests on how to
add direct video to the TS-1000 & TS-1500
computers so as to drive a composite video
monitor. This has been covered many times
in the past in other newsletters and
magazines , but I feel that for those who
are just now starting to use their
computers and those who missed the other
articles, here is how to do it.

The only way to do it is to go inside
the computer and make some extra
connections and add extra circuitry. On
the two monitors that I have, one works
quite well from just tapping the video
signal before it goes into the modulator
and connect it directly to the monitor
(don't forget the ground). This method
will work on almost all monitors that have
a switchable input impedance — labeled
Hi-Z and 75 ohm. If you connect the video
from the computer directly to the input of
the monitor, you should use the Hi-Z
position.

aAjjLa.a.i

Ccue

For monitors that come only with 75 ohm
input, you will need to build a small
driver circuit to the 75 ohm input of the
monitor. This driver circuit can be a
simple transistor emitter-follower circuit
using the input impedance of the monitor
as the load. Here again, a few monitors
have a slight DC potential on the input,
so some sort of isolation must be used. A
0.1 micro-Farad capacitor will work fine.

Oo l+*

\J ideo

■O +° 75V*.

*AOKM*4Tor
UJ .*4-k

Ca/t.c !W n oci*eU-Wo~

c-r-co^z

The video in the ZX81/TS-1000 can be
found on one of the wires leading into the
RF modulator. The lead to the left is
video (facing from the front) and plus
five volts is the center wire (+5 volts is
needed for the transistor circuit) .

On the TS-1500, the video signal can be
found on pin 11 of U1 inside the modulator
and +5 volts can be found on pin 8. The
video can also be found on the left side
of R30 and +5 volts on the right side of
R30 (facing the front of the computer).
These second two places are easier to get
to. As far as adding a connector, I just
clipped the existing leads at the RF
connector and ran my new circuitry over to
the existing connector which gives a
cleaner look from the outside, but you
will not be able to use a regular TV
again.

— Joe Williamson

FOR SALE: TS-2068 Con"— iter (new), TS-
2040 Printer _ \sonic cassette

recorder. $ V O » *’* oping. James
Dunavant, 91 o evenings, weekends.

Zebra Talker — A Review

The Zebra Talker is a hardware and
software combination that will allow you
to synthesize human speech. The system is
based around the Votrax SC-01 Speech
Synthesizer IC which produces 45 basic
speech sounds and links them together to
make speech. Approximately 1400 words are
able to be created using this device. A
phoneme editor and text-to-speech software
come with the package.

The hardware portion of the Zebra
Talker is basically an I/O port (191)
connected to the Votrax speech syn-
thesizer. The interface has it's own power
supply so as to not use any of the
computer's power. A sound output cable
leads away to be connected up to your
monitor audio input or some other ampli-
fier (the output is low level and requires
some type of amplification). A resistor-
capacitor combination acts as an clock
oscillator for the synthsizer IC. There is

no on-off switch, power being supplied by
plugging in the cable.

The Z Talker comes with the Votrax
speech dictionary, so even if you had no
software, you could create speech by just
OUTing the proper values to port 191 and
then use PRINT IN 191. To make this
easier, a phoneme editor program is
supplied to let you easily "build" your
own speech.

The editor lets you build up your words
one sound at a time using the Votrax
dictionary or your own guessing. After you
have built up a word(s), you can print out
the sequence of sounds along with the
Votrax symbol, the hex and decimal equi-
valent, and the 2068 character. For exam-
ple, if you want it to say "computer", you
would enter the following sequence of
sounds as given in the Votrax dictionary:

k uhl m p yl iu ul t er

T-5 Harixanj

Affordable Quality for the Timex Computer User
Each issue brings you 40 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware projects,
and applications for your computer. T-S HORIZONS features nation
ally known authors like Paul Hunter, Gordon Young, and others.
The price is ONLY $15.00 for a full year (12 issues!

AND for a limited time only, new subscribers will receive our
special telecommunications issue (#7, see below) ‘FREE* with
their subscription. . — _ M ■

T -5 Hiriianj

TIMEX

Sinclair - !

h— | -||| | \

tt "m

?» !•••* ..H
III! SVIICIIIC <
*«on* coacirofD
M»i I Sttffll ’

lit Cilaaa

IN T-S HORIZONS f7

• Byte Back Modem Review int-s horizons »7

• 2068 Programming Tips
* How a Compiler Works * Telecommunications for Beginner
* Book & Game Reviews * Rotating Globe Routine
Articles By Gordon Young and Paul Hunter • Sinclair Info. Net.
• TS-1000 Power Supply - and morel! !

i Encloso Si 5 (US) for 12-lssuo
J subscription, plus 'FREE* back
I Issue (while supplies last). $21
I Canada, $25 other foreign. Extra
| back lssue/sample:$2.00.

-CUr A AITUIM TODAY -

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STATE, ZIP

SUM # SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

Notice the different "vowel" sounds.
There are 36 in all. A table containing
special vowel-phoneme combinations is also
given in the dictionary. This is not new?
if you open any good sized dictionary,
they will usually have phonetic repre-
sentations at the bottom of the page. This
idea is used here to create speech from a
set of common sounds!

The second program contains a text to
speech routine that allows you to just
type in words and the computer will speak
them! This is the best part of the
package! Using stream #4, all text is sent
to the synthesizer. The machine code can
be easily added to your own program at
location 59000 and is 6000 bytes long.

The use is very easy a.*d almost com-
pletely transparent to the user. All you
have to do is enter your text into your
programs with PRINT #4 statements. For it
to say "computer talks", all you would
have to do is enter into your program:

10 PRINT #4? "computer talks"

The text to speech program will handle
about 90% of all words entered. The
program checks for combinations of letters
and creates the proper sequence of sounds

to produce the spoken word. Due to certain
unusual combinations and so many rules in
the English language, some words come out
pronounced wrong. In the last example, the
word "computer" comes out sounding like
"compooter" . To correct the pronunciation,
you need to "fudge" the spelling. To make
"computer" sound right you need to enter
"compu ter".

The sound. from the Z Talker is very in-
telligible and can be changed in pitch by
a simple POKE. There are some sounds it
has trouble with though. It has trouble
with the "p" sound. It sounds more like a
quiet "t" in most instances. But some
sounds are perfect like when you have it
say "six".

If you really want to change the pitch
drastically, you can change capacitor C2
to a higher or lower value and make it
range from sounding like Jaba the Hut to
Kermit the frog!

I would like to see a nice case for the
interface instead of the two pieces of
cardboard stuck on each side. Also, I
would like to see the power drawn from the
computer instead of a separate supply and
I wish that they provided a longer audio
cable so it would reach the back of my
monitor. One last thing, it should have a
2068 wide feedthrough connector so as to
add other 2068 interfaces.

Over all, I'm impressed. The construc-
tion of the interface, the quality of the
programs, even the sound is pretty good.
Using the text-to-speech, it's fun to see
how well it pronouces all the words you
tell it to and to see what happens when
you make words up. And remember, it will
sound the same no matter what computer
it's on.

Available from: Zebra Systems, Inc.,
78-06 Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven, NY 11421
(718) 296-2385

— Joe Williamson

Help Our Advertisers
Out. . .Tell Them You
Saw Their Ad in
SUM MAGAZINE!

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Hi-Res Graphics for the TS-1000

A Review of I.S.I. ’s Software

"High Resolution Graphics MK. II" is a
software high resolution graphics program
for the TS-1000 line of computers. It has
the ability to plot points, unplot points,
write in upper and lower case, test a
point on the screen, invert the hi-res
screen, and copy the hi-res screen to the
printer. The resolution comes as 192 X 128
but can be expanded up to 192 X 256 in
some applications.

The program auto-runs after loading and
gives you an example of hi-res with both
upper and lower case text telling where
the addresses are for each operation. You
use RAND USR XXX in your program each time
you wish to access a function. Each
function is easy to use and examples are
given .

Included in the documentation is a
short program which will allow you to draw
on the screen using the arrow keys (see
example), and a test program for writing
in upper and lower case.

As an example, to use upper and lower
case, you must first clear the hi-res
screen using RAND USR 16572, call the
hi-res routine with RAND USR 16514, place
in a PRINT statement what you wish to
print in upper and lower case (using
inverse characters for upper case), POKE
16417 with the line you wish it to appear
in, and call the print routine with RAND
USR 17285.

The characters are not the best in the
world? I like the upper and lower case
letters on the 2068 much better. If I knew
where the character table started, it
would be easy to change to a more pleasing
character set.

HI 53 RESOLUTION 5PRPHIC5 PRDGRRUt
Version 5

tC) 19EH by Ernie 3irb

1 551 P-b-oto hi eh res screen
1 55 53 -Ret urn to 5 i nc i □. i r display
1 5S75-C i ear hiBh-res display
"I 55BP-P ! d± a pd ? nt
I 559B-Unp i ot , a pd i nt
I 5505- T bst a pd i nt
1/535-U/L case printer
17575-Print out hiBh-res screen
"1 ? BOO- Invert nlsh-res screen

L i nes 50 to 350 may be removed

Another thing that isn't explained in
the manual is that you must be in SLOW
mode in order to see what is being
printed. The plot routines are much
quicker than the Sinclair plot.

The code is short and only takes about
a minute to load. I am very happy with
this program. It does a lot and is easy to
use. Best of all it is inexpensive. They
also list a word processor using the
hi-res routines which should be pretty
good from what I've seen here. They state
in several places that it only works with
the TS-1000 and ZX81, but it loaded and
ran fine on my TS-1500 as well.

Available from: Inter-Pacific Systems
Inc. 3770 Duke Rd, RR #1, Victoria, BC,
Canada V8X 3W9. $7.49 (US).

— Joe Williamson

SKIPPER ELECTRONICS

d for all your
orojects.

We have the parts vo-*
hardware ^ 0 \°

SKIPP1 ^tCTRONICS
3708 Newberry Road — Gainesville, FL 32607
904/373-6796

Creating Your Own TS-2068 Character Set

One of the features that made me get my
2068 was the possibility of changing the
character set. But, it didn't seem to be
worth the trouble until I saw the special
alphabet used in a program that was shown
at a recent TUG meeting. As you can see in
the listing of CHR$, it is well worth it
in better legibility, and it's prettier
too.

I really enjoy making character sets
with this program which can be used to
make more than just one regular and one
USR set by changing the values of S and T
which are the beginning of the second
character set and UDG set respectively.

After you type in the program and RUN
it you can start out by copying the
Sinclair character set and then changing
it. Sets can also be saved as bytes for
use in other programs. Line 6000 switches
the computer back into the normal ROM
characters while line 6010 puts the new
ones into use.

a f r OUJ K. £ y S iT 1 : 0 ENTER ESC : 4

The character editor routine is entered
by pressing a character you wish to
change. While in the edit mode, use the
arrow keys to move the dots around. Press
1 to plot, press 0 to unplot, press 4 to
return to the menu, and press enter to
POKE the new character.

I don't think you will ever be content
with just the old alphabet again.

— John Monkus

18 REM CHR#

28 REM
22 REM

38 DIM A < 3 > : RESTORE : FOR: 1 = 1
T 0 8s READ A « I > : NEXT I
32 DATA 128,64,32,18,8,4,2,1
48 LET 5=54688: LET T=65386: L

ET 0 = 1

108 GO TO 1798

688 GO 506 958: LET H=T+8*<CHR-
144> ; GO TO 718

788 GO 506 958: LET H=S+3*<CHR-
32 >

718 FOR 1=1 TO 8: LET HH=PEEK <
H+I-l>

712 FOR J=i TO 8

728 IF H H > = A < J > THEN LET H H = H H -
A < J > : LET 5* <X,J> =**g ,B
738 NEXT J; NEXT I
798 GO TO 2888

958 DIM 5#<8,S>: FOR 1=1 TO 8;
LET 5$ <X> =*" NEXT I: RE

TORN

958 PRINT A T 14,12: FLASH 1 ;

Si : FOR 1=8 TO 757: POKE <5

+ I> ,PEEK <15815+I>: NEXT I: LET

0=8: GO TO 1888

999 ON ERR RESET : OVER 8; BEEP

8.87,31: BEEP 8.87,23; PAPER 7;
INK 9: BRIGHT 8: BORDER 6: STOP

THEN

THEN
THEN
OR C#

TO 7888
0=1 THEN

GO TO
COPY

7188
THEN GO

THEN

1818 PRINT AT Y+3,X+7;5# <Y,X> : R
ETORN

1388 ON ERR RESET : BORDER 1: PA
PER 1: INK 9; CLS : POKE 23658,1

1318 PRINT AT 5,8;: GO SOB 5588:

1328 PRINT AT 19,2; ” a »: copy Sincl
air set * BBB “ B,B ; st of **; AT 21,4; BB !;1
cad CHR# **: save CUR#* 1
1348 DIM C*<1>: INPOT ; TAB 13; ,, C
HA RAC TER?*"; 0 #

1842 IF C#=* t5a **

1344 IF C* ="■■*•

GO TO 958
1346 IF C#=** i’*

1843 IF C#= ,,= i’'

1358 IF C#=" "*

TO 999

1863 LET CHR =C0DE C#

1378 IF CHR >143 AND CHR <165
GO TO 588
1338 IF CHR >32 AND CHR <127 THEN
GO TO 788
1983 GO TO 1888

2333 OVER 8: BORDER 6: PAPER 6;
BRIGHT 3: CLS s INK 9; P APER 3;
PRINT AT 3,7; l ’~< |" ; FOP I

= 1 TO 8: PRINT AT I+3,7; B *i ,B ; pqp
ER 7 ; 5$ < I > ; PAPER 8;" 5 *: NEXT Is

PRINT AT 12 j"

2318 POKE 23558,8: GO SOB 3383;
GO SUB 5888

2283 PRINT AT 14,3; PAPER 6j“arr
oui Keys 3:1 "; PAPER 7; ,B ,B ; PARE
R 5 ; '* : 8 ENTER ESC: 4 "* ; LET X =

4: LET Y =4

2213 PRINT AT Y+3,X+7; BRIGHT 1;

INVERSE 1 ; 5$ « Y ,X>

2238 IF INKEY# = BB 5*"

THEN GO SOB 1888:

2248 IF INKEY# =**8" B
THEN GO SOB 1838:

2258 IF INKEY# =**7 B "

THEN GO SOB 1838:

2268 IF INKEY# =**6""

THEN GO SOB 1838:

2338 IF INKEY# =**8""

.82,44: LET 5# <Y,X>

T Y + 3 , X -f 7 ; 5 # < Y , X >

PLOT INVERSE 1
187 + X ,83-Y

THEN : IF

LET X=X-i
THEN J IF
LET X=X+1
THEN : IF

LET Y = Y - 1
THEN : IF

LET Y=Y+i
THEN : BEEP 0

*" : PRINT A
GO SOB 3398:
171+X ,88-Y : PLOT

X > 1
X < 6

Y >1

Y < 8

2318 IF INKEY* =**1" THEN : BEEP 8

.84,32: LET 5* < Y ,X) = “1" : PRINT A

T Y + 3 ,X+7; S* < Y , X > : GO SUE 3888 :
PLOT 171+ X, 38- V : PLOT INVERSE 1;
187+X ,88-Y

2358 PRINT PlT Y + 3 , X + 7 : 5$ < Y , X >

2378 IF INKEY* ="B" THEN : GO SUB

258: GO TO 2888

2388 IF INKEY*="4” THEN : GO TO

1388

2398 IF INKEY* =CHR* 13 THEN BEEP
8.3,21: GO lO 4888

2418 GO TO 2218

3888 REM Stoats -f ==£=

3818 FOR 1=5 TO 9: PRINT PT 1,21
j PPiPER 7;" ”l NEXT I

3828 PLOT 164,138: DRAW 38,8: DR
will 8,-37: DR Pill -38,8: DR fit!) 8,38:
DR Plil 39,8; DR PlU 8,-39: DR PH) -48
,8: DRAW 8,39

3838 FOR K = 1 TO 8 STEP 2: FOR L=
1 TO 8 STEP 2:

3848 GO SUB 3918: NEXT L: NEXT K
3880 RETURN

3898 IF Y/2=INT <Y/2> THEN LET K
= Y-1

3892 IF Y/20INT <Y/2> THEN LET
K=Y

3894 IF X/2=INT <X/2> THEN LET L
= X-1

3895 IF X/20INT <X/2> THEN LET
L=X

3988 PRINT PT 5+ <K+1 > /2 ,20+ <L+1 >
/2 ; OVER 8; *' "

3918 IF 5* <K,L >=•*■" THEN PRINT P
T 5+ < K+ 1 > /2 , 28+ < L+ 1 > /2 ; OVER 1 J **

3928 IF 5*<K+1 ,L> =“S" THEN PRINT
PT 5+ <K+ 1 > /2 ,28+ < L+ 1 > /2 ; OVER 1
■ *• ••

3930 IF S*<K,L+i>="H" THEN PRINT
PT 5+ <K+1 > /2 ,28+ < «.L + i > /2> j OVlR
j . ■■ s* *

3948 IF S* (K+l ,L+1 > = "3" THEN PRI
NT PT 5+ < K+ 1 > /2 ,20+ < L+ 1 > /2 ; OVER
11” »”

3958 RETUR N

4888 REM

4848 LET A=8: LET B=8: LET C*=CH

R* CHR: GO SUB 4908

4858 GO SUB 5688: PRINT PT 4,22;

PPRER 7 ; C * j INVERSE ljC*: GO SU
B 5888

4288 PRINT PT 14,0; PAPER 6;"

O.K.? 'jes or no
BEEP 8.85,36

4218 IF INKEY* =”Y" OR INKEY* =CHR

* 13 THEN GO TO 1888

4228 IF INKEY* =**N" THEN BEEP 8.0

7,28: BEEP 8.87,25: PRINT PT 4,2

2: PAPER 6;” ”: GO TO 2288

4230 IF INKEY *="9” THEN GO TO 99

4258 GO TO 4281

4928 IF CHR >143 THEN LET X=T+8*<
CODE C * - 1 4 4 > : GO TO 4948
4938 IF C H R < 128 THEN LET X=S+8*«
CODE C * - 3 2 >

4948 LET P=8: FOR 1=1 TO 8: FOR
J = 1 TO 8i IF S* <I+P ,J+B> =” 3 " THE
N LET P-P+P < J >

4958 NEXT J: POKE X+I-1,P: LET P
=8: NEXT I: RETURN

5818 PRINT PT -11,21; PAPER 7;“

3S55 : *

5820 PLOT 164,89: DRAW 39,8: DRP
ill 8,-11: DRAW -39 , 8 : DRAW 8,11
5048 FOR 1=1 TO 8: FOR J=1 TO 8:
IF S* < I, J >=“■•■ THEN PLOT 17i + J,

88-1: PLOT INVERSE 1 j 1 87 + J , 38 -I

5858 NEXT J: NEXT I: RETURN

5508 GO SUB 5688; PRINT TPB 8; P
APER 7;" !””«*%& 1 O *+,-. /0 123456
789; ;<=>?": GO SUB 6888: kRiN s ;

PB 8; PAPER 8;" •—#*%& 1 O *+,-. ✓

8123456789 : ; < = >?"

5518 GO SUB 5688: PRINT TPB 8; +

APER 7; ••ePBCDEFGHIJKLMNGPORSTUVUi
XY2C\3t_”: GO SUB 6888: PRINT TP

B 0; PAPER 3; “GPBCDEFGHIJKLMNOPG
R S T U VW X Y 2 E \ 3 Y._"

5528 GO SUB 5580: PRINT TPB 3; +'
APER 7 ; **£a b c de f gh i j K Iran o p q rs t sj vw
yjz-CI© ”: GO SUB 5888: PRINT TP
B 8; PAPER 8;”£3fccdef ghi jKlomcpq
rs t ii vwxg z II©

5538 GO SUB 5528: PRINT TPB 8;"

” ; PAPER 7 ; ” m CDEFGH I-JKLMNO
PQPSTU”; PAPER 8 ; TPB- 6 ; "ABCDlh GH
IJKLMNOPORSTU”

5598 RETURN

5688 LET J=S-256 : POKE 23686, J-2

55+INT <J/256> : POKE 23687, INT <

J / 2 5 6 > : RETURN

5628 POKE 23675 ,T-256*INT <T/255
> ; POKE 23575, INT <T/256>

5622 RETURN

6888 POKE 23605,8: POKE 23687,58

: RETURN

6818 POKE 23685,88: POKE 23687,2

51: RETURN

7888 REM

7018 INK l: PAPER 5: BORDER a: C
L5

7828 PRINT PT 9,1; "TITLE OF BYTE
5 : ENTER = "‘•CHR*

MATH & SCIENCE SOFTWARE

for your TSlOOO, 1500, & TS 2068

• MATHEMATICS $14.95 pp

Linear regression, simultaneous equations, any
base conversion, determinants, compute primes,

GCD, LCK, roots of functions, solve triangles,
and some vector operations,

• THE CALCULUS $14.95 pp

Numerical integration, differentiation, 1,2,3rd
derivatives of functions, & G~ ssian quadrature,
1st, 2nd order different!** ’ ions by Runge-

Kutta and Adams-MouJ *

• WEATH Fr ~ .... $14.95 pp

Predict the .~-rm weather (1800 pos-
sible predic -n wind speed & direction)

Also computet native humidity, dew point, THI
temperature-humidity, index, and wind chill.

• ASTROLOGY $14.95 pp

Compute astrology natal horoscope charts. Output
includes Sun sign, ascendant, midheaven, planet-
ary locations by sign, house & degree, Placidus
house cusps, and the major "planetary" aspects.

• Prices include high quality cassette tape,
booklet of instructions & sample problems,
and shipping by first-class mail.

• SPECIFY COMPUTER MODEL WHEN ORDERING, PLEASE.

• _ I. AUERSBACHER, M.S.

['fcff 41 King Street, A2

"1 Belleville, NJ 07109

7038 POKE 23524 ,41 ; DIM T$<i@> ;
INPUT ; ”18 CHP:$ max <4=E5C> U* :
IF U$=”4” THEN GO TO 1588
7832 IF Ui=”” THEN LET T$=” OH
R$ ”5 GO TO 7836
7834 LET T$“U$

7836 FOP I-i TO 18; IF CODE T*<I
><>32 AND CODE T $ < I > >47 AND CODE
TJCIX58 THEN GO TO 7818
7838 NEXT I
7844 LET J=65535-5
7858 SAVE T$COGE S,J
7868 LET P=1888: ON ERR GO TO 79
58; PRINT AT 9,8;” FLASH

l;”PEU)IND TAPE TO VERI FY”; FLAS

H 8;” AT 11, 18;’ !

S”””;AT 11,11; PAPER 8; INK

l/frp i ; J J

7070 PRINT AT 19,0;: VERIFY
DE : GO TO 1808
7899 STOP

7188 rem

7118 PAPER 2: INK 6: BORDER 2: C

7120 PRINT AT 9.-4; FLASH

7138 LET R=1808: ON ERR GO TO 79
58

7148 PRINT AT 16,0;: LOAD ""CODE

8; u
""CO

7158 GO TO 1808
7199 STOP

7958 PRINT g 1 ; AT 8.7: FLASH 1 ; ”0

8;** press any Key to continue "
: PAUSE 4E4

7980 ON ERR RESET : GO TO R
8999 STOP
9888 REM

9885 POKE 23658,8: POKE 23675,88

: POKE 23676,255

9018 CLS : PRINT AT 9,8; FLASH i
; "DO NOT STOP TAPE"

9828 LOAD "••CODE
9838 GO TO 1888
9993 STOP

9999 PAPER 8: INK 9: PRINT AT 28
,0; : SAVE "CHR-S" LINE 9080: SAVE
” CHR3"C0DE 64608,936: VERIFY
"CHR$": PRINT AT 28,8;: VERIFY "
CHR$"CODE

Reviving the 2068 Keyboard

One of the complaints most often heard
about the Timex 2060 and its keyboard is
the "dead" keys and/or spacebar that so
often develops. Here is a procedure that
will often solve the problem.

An understanding of how the 2068 key-
board is made reveals the solution. The
accompanying photo shows the constituent
parts. When viewing the 2068 only the
overlay and the keys are visible. In fact,
under the overlay is a hard plastic sheet
with all tne keys mounted througn it.
Under this sheet is a rubber membrane with

a convex "bubble" formed precisely under
each key in the layer above it. Mounted to
the underside of each bubble or dome is a
small conductive button. The bottom layer
of the keyboard consists of the printed
circuit board laid out as a matrix. Con-
sulting a circuit diagram of the 2068
shows that the computer reads the keyboard
by checking each vertical and horizontal
line on the circuit board for a completed
circuit. A closed circuit is made as the
key presses the dome which presses the

button across the two lines unique to that
character on the keyboard.

The major problem with this arrangement
is the build up of a resistive corrosion
on the contacts of the circuit board. Les-

sening or remedying the problem is pos-
sible without opening your computer. Here
are the steps:

( 1 ) Carefully lift one corner of the key-
board overlay and gently lift off the com-
plete overlay and lay it aside. You will
find it stuck down with something akin to
contact cement and will lift up without
bending if you are careful.

(2) Unscrew the hard plastic sheet holding
the keys in place. Turn the computer over
while holding this sheet in place with

your hand. The sheet will come out in your
hand with all keys in place. Lay the sheet
aside face down so the keys will not get
out of place.

(3) Lift off the rubber sheet to reveal
the circuit board beneath.

( 4 ) Obtain some co] or Vv tuner contact
cleaner from Radio Shack along with some
cotton tipped plastic swabs (Q-tips).
Scrub each circular contact point on the
circuit board giving special attention to
the keys which were giving trouble and
the space bar contacts.

(5) Reassemble your keyboard. Use contact
cement to help re-stick your overlay.

Now try it out. I found that all my
"dead" keys but one, and my space bar, had
their old life back. Only the "i" key
still has a little difficulty contacting.

” Richard Cravy

WORM — A Type-it-y our self Game

Have you been looking for a game for
the 2068 that doesn't require lightning
fast reflexes and nerves of steel? Well,
Worm will give you a chance to play a game
without dodging/blasting ten zillion human
eating, earth destroying thingamagigs.

As you type in the following program,
there are a couple of lines that you
should pay special attention to.

In line 20, notice the INPUT "" and the
PRINT #1; statements. The INPUT"" will
clear the bottom two lines only! The PRINT
#1? then allows printing on the bottom
line! A PRINT #0; will allow printing on
the next to the bottom line.

Line 195 has POKE 23568,8 which puts
the computer into CAPS LOCK mode to accept
your initials as capitals. POKE 23568,0
returns you back to lower case mode. Also
included in the program is a routine for
checking high score and allowing input of
initials before the scoreboard is printed.

— G A Smith/Austell, GA

5 RANDOMIZE : DIM a(ll): DIM
p$ (11,3) : GO TO 220

10 CLS

20 INK 5: FOR i=k TO k+long: P
RINT AT CODE a$(l,i),CODE a$(2,
i ) ; "0" : GO SUB 40: GO SUB 120:
NEXT i: INPUT PRINT #1; INK

5; "Lives=" ; liv;TAB 13 ; "Score="
;sc; " "

25 GO SUB 35: GO SUB 120: LET
cnt=cnt+l : IF cnt=13 THEN LET
g=g+RND: GO SUB 170: LET cnt=0

30 GO SUB 35: LET g=g+RND : GO
TO 20

35 FOR q=l TO 2: PRINT AT CODE
a$ (1,1), CODE a$ ( 2 , 1 ) ; " ": LET
a$ ( 1 , 1 TO 629 ) =a$ (1,2 TO 63^):
LET a$ ( 2 , 1 TO )=a$(2,2 TO ): LE
T k=k-l : NEXT q: RETURN

40 LET a= STICK (1,1): IF j=0
AND (a=5 OR a=6 OR a=9 OR a=10)
THEN GO TO 70

45 IF j = 0 AND STICK (1,1)00
THEN LET dir= STICK (1,1): GO
TO 70

50 IF
= 4

INKEY$= " 5 "

THEN

LET

dir

55 IF

= 2

INKEYS = " 6 "

THEN

LET

dir

60 IF INKEY$="7" THEN LET dir

= 1

65 IF INKEY$="8" THEN LET dir

= 8

70 IF
ND L>1 ) :
75 IF
ND c<32)
80 IF
ND L<22)
85 IF
ND 0-1)
90 IF
,5: LET
95 LET
="#" OR
: FOR q=
XT q: GO
100 IF
* (1+liv)
9

dir=l THEN LET L=L-(1 A
GO TO 90

dir=8 THEN LET c=c+(l A
: GO TO 90

dir=2 THEN LET L=L+(1 A
: GO TO 90

dir=4 THEN LET c=c-(l A

odirOdir THEN BEEP .07
odir=dir

Z$=SCREEN$ (L,c) : IF z$
z$= "0" THEN BEEP .5,33
1 TO 5: BEEP .1,-44: NE
TO 170

z$="~" THEN LET sc=sc+l
: BEEP .03,5: BEEP .03,

105 IF z$="@" THEN LET sc=sc+l
* (1+liv) : BEEP .03,0: BEEP .03,
3: BEEP .03,5: BEEP .03,7: BEEP
.03,9

110 IF z$="*" THEN LET sc=sc+3
* (1+liv) : BEEP .03,0: BEEP .03,
5: BEEP .03,9

115 LET k=k+l : LET a$(l,k)=CHR$
L : LET a$ ( 2 ,k) =CHR$ c : RETURN
120 IF RNDC.7 THEN RETURN
125 LET n= INT (19*RND)+1: LET m
=INT (RND*29 ) +1 : LET z$=SCREEN$
(n,m) : IF z$<>" " THEN GO TO
145

130 IF RND> . 3 THEN PRINT INK
4; AT n,m;"~": RETURN
135 IF RND> . 1 THEN PRINT INK
6; AT n , m ; " * " : RETURN
140 PRINT INK 3; AT n,m;"@": BE
EP .01,13: RETURN
145 IF Z$="0" OR z$="#" THEN R
ETURN

150 PRINT AT n , m ; " ": RETURN
155 LET long=long+RND: FOR q=l
TO INT (g)

160 LET n= INT (18*RND)+2: LET m
= INT ( 29*RND) +1 : IF SCREENS (n,
m)="#" OR SCREENS (n,m) ="0" THE
N GO TO 160

165 BEEP .1,7: BEEP .1,9: PRINT
BRIGHT 1; INK 2;AT N

EXT q: BRIGHT 0: RETURN

170 LET zz=zz+l: LET liv=liv-l:
IF liv>0 THEN GO TO 265
175 CLS : RESTORE 9999: PRINT
INK 4; "You are dead! Your score
= " ; sc : FOR i=l TO 11: READ a,b
: BEEP a ,b: NEXT i
180 FOR i=l TO 10: IF sc>a(i) T
HEN GO TO 190
185 NEXT i: GO TO 200
190 FOR k=10 TO i STEP -1: LET
a (k+1 ) =a (k) : LET p$(k+l, TO ) =p
$ (k, TO ) : NEXT k
195 PRINT INK 4; "Your sore=
sc;" & is # " ; i ; " ! " : PRINT "Key
in your 3 initials & press ENT
ER.": POKE 23658,8: INPUT LINE
p$(i): LET a (i) =sc: POKE 23658
,0

200 PRINT INK 6 ; TAB 9; "TOP 10"

: FOR i=l TO 10: LET z$=STR$ i:
PRINT INK 6 ; TAB (10-LEN z$);i

; " . " ; p$ ( i ) ; " ";a(i): NEXT i

: PRINT INK 5 ; ' "'Press ( " ; FLAS
H 1 ; " P " ; FLASH 0;")lay OR ("; F
LASH 1 ; " Q " ; FLASH 0;")uit."

205 LET Z$= INKEY$ : IF Z$="P" OR
z$="p" THEN GO TO 220

210 IF

Z $ = " Q " OR Z $ = " q " THEN STOP
215 GO TO 205

220 PAPER 0: LET liv=5: LET sc=
0: INK 5: BORDER 0: CLS : PRINT
TAB 12; FLASH l;"WORM"; FLASH
0: PRINT ''TAB 3; "Everybody lov
es to play WORM!"

225 PRINT "'In WORM, you are an
ever growings always hungry ce
ntpede . " ' " You move around the a
rea trying not to touch the red
areas or yourself!"

230 PRINT "To touch a red area
or yourself is certain death &
causes you to lose one of your
lives "You score 1 point by
landing on the "; INK 4;"~"; IN
K 5;" (leaf) or 3 points for th
e "; INK 6;"*"; INK 5;" (lemon)

235 PRINT "The "; INK 3;"@"; I
NK 5;" (flowers) are 5 points!"

240 PRINT "You score bonus poin
ts accordingto the life level y
ou are on. "'"Press any key.": P
AUSE 0: CLS

245 PRINT ''"'You may use the a
rrow keys or a joystick. A BEEP
will sound to ""'let you know

your move has been registered.

250 PRINT ’"If you do not turn,
you continuein the direction y
ou were going .'"' "Good Luck! &
Happy eating !"*' "Press 1 for ke
yboard ."' "Press 0 for joystick.

255 LET j =CODE INKEY$-48: IF j<
0 OR j>l THEN GO TO 255
260 CLS : LET zz=0: LET long=3:
LET k=l : LET L=k: LET c=k: LET
cnt=zz: LET dir=long-k: LET g=
-13: DIM a$ ( 2 , 630 ) : LET odir=di
r: FOR i=L TO dir: LET a$(l,i)=
CHR$ i: LET a$(2,i)=CHR$ i: NEX
T i: GO TO 10

265 CLS : PRINT INK 5;' '"'You
got killed! "'' "Your score= ";sc
'"'Only ";liv;" live(s) left!"'
"'Press a key or fire button."
270 IF STICK (2,1) =1 OR INKEY$
<>"" THEN GO TO 260
275 GO TO 270

9999 DATA . 75 , 4 , . 75 , 4 , . 2 , 4 , . 75 , 4
,.3, 6, .75, 6, .2, 4, .6, 4, .3, 3, .7, 4
,.74,4

T'SHnrixanj

Affordable Quality for the Timex Computer User
Each Issue brings you 40 pages of usable information, program
listings, product reviews, programming articles, hardware projects
and applications for your computer. T-° * ONS features nation

ally known authors like Paul M ung, and others.

The price is ONLY S 1C -Q\v

AND for a limited \
special telecommun
their subscription.

.^ers will receive our
M «»/\ see below) "FREE* with

T-5 Hiriian i

ts tin
rtocaias

tin

null!

I laid I (Mli|

TS I 111' ISIS
llil SlltClIlC •

•»0I» • COiCICIIC

r.*u lirriv*

Ita Ctltai

in t-s horizons f? * Byte Back Modem Review iNT.sHomz oNs»7

* 2068 Programming Tips

* How a Compiler Works • Telecommunications for Beginner
* Book & Game Reviews • Rotating Globe Routine
Articles By Gordon Young and Paul Hunter • Sinclair Info. Net.
• TS-1000 Power Supply - and more!!!

-cur * aiTUBM TODAY -

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* SATISFACTION GUARANTEED *

SPECIAL FEATURE

Adding a "Real” Keyboard to Your 2068

Probably the most common complaint I
hear about the 2068 is about the keyboard.
Although it does work well, it lacks the
feel of a full sized keyboard as found on
Commodore, Atari, and others, not to
mention some of the missing (single
dedicated) keys such as the period, comma,
semi-colon, and slash keys. In fact, a
leading computing magazine recently named
it "turkey of the year" because of its
powerful features while lacking a decent
keyboard!

We decided to gather some of the
popular Spectrum replacement keyboards and
try to adapt them to the 2068 and report
on how they work and feel. The keyboards
we tested were the AMS Lo-Profile, Saga 1
Emperor, Lazer 62, and the English Micro
Connection 2000 Keyboard (EMC 2000). This
last one is available now for the
Spectrum, and soon for the 2068.

Each one had its own pros and cons, and
as it turned out, the less attractive it
was, the more user-friendly it was! All
required removing the Spectrum printed
circuit board and installing it in the new
keyboard housing. Installation was quick
and easy for all and provided easy access
to the rear connections. All the keyboards
we tried came with Sinclair legends on the
keys .

In judging these keyboards, I was
looking for proper layout — meaning one
that has keys in the same general location
as on a standard typewriter. As it turned
out, none did this exactly, but some did
come close. You learn how to type on a
"standard" keyboard; why change it? Of
course if you don’t know how to type, it
doesn't make any difference how it's laid
out. I was also looking for one that feels
comfortable to use.

THE SAGA 1 EMPEROR

The Saga 1 is in an off-white plastic
housing and is the same size as the 2068.
There are 67 keys in all, but none of the
"extra" keys are dedicated — meaning that
you still have to press either the SYMBOL

- i ;L -1 - i NH * 1 * | M r.| M r-M V

111

’[ [- 1* |

-i- ( - 1 H ■ lyl y 1 ~ 1 H - 1 - 1 1

♦IFF 1-1

w v W>W nii » M r , I L . ,» ,

SAGA 1

or CAPS SHIFT to get the character you
want. The "extra" keys are: four arrows,
RUN, LIST, LOAD, SAVE, 0, *, #, four
symbol shifts, Graphics, =, CLS, DELETE,
CAPS LOCK, $, EDIT, ;, :, comma, period,
and an extra ENTER key. The left caps
shift is two keys away from the Z and the
right cap shift is below and to the right
of the space bar — A very user un-friendly
keyboard.

The keys are a little hard to press but
have a good overall "feel". All the keys
are labeled in three colors, but you have
to peel and stick on the labels yourself!
This keyboard looks the nicest of them
all, but is difficult to use. The keyboard
tails are the same as used in the
ZX81/TS1000, so problems could crop up
from there as well. On a scale of one to
ten , I give this one a 2. Priced at #49.95

AMS LO-PROFILE

This one is in an attractice black
plastic housing with red graphics. There
are 41 keys with tnree color graphics made
into the key (like on a typewriter), and a
12 key numeric keypad to the right of the
main keyboard. It is much the same depth
as the 2068, but much wider due to the
keypad.

Extra keys include a caps lock and a
period (both require either caps or symbol
shift) . There is no caps shift on the

AMS LO-PROFILE

right side, but there is an extra one on
the numeric pad that you could use
instead.

The keys are a little stiff, but easier
than the Saga. Again, the keyboard looks
great, but is lacking dedicated keys. It
is easy to use. It's basically a replica
of the Spectrum key layout with the ad-
dition of a spacebar and numeric keypad. I
give it a 6. Price is #49.95 ($65 from
EMC) .

LAZER 62

The Lazer comes in a cream colored
plastic housing with a sheet metal bottom.
(I understand that new models have a plas-
tic bottom. ) It is a little wider and
deeper than the 2068, it actually has a
lower profile than the AMS LO-Profile. A
power switch on the rear keeps you from
having to always un-plug your Spectrum.

It sports 62 keys and has true
dedicated keys which means when you press
the key labeled DELETE, you get the delete
function with only one key press . This
keyboard is buffered which makes sure that

V-

it doesn’t load down the data and address
lines more than is necessary. The printed
circuit board is easy to get to, so it is
possible to move some of the keys around
to your liking.

The dedicated extra keys are: the four
arrows, $,#,(, ), EDIT, DELETE, CAPS
LOCK, ;, :, =, comma, period, /, *, and
extended mode. This keyboard comes the
closest to imitating a typewriter keyboard
that most typists are used to. The only
drawback here is that there is no right
side caps shift. The labels are the peel
and stick kind in one color (white) on
charcoal colored keys. You have to stick
on the labels yourself.

The keys feel very good but are a
little noisier than the others. On the one
that I tried, the space bar was a little
dead. Also the space bar is not centered
below the main keys but offset to the
right which throws your perspective off
when positioning your hands and fingers. A
little more expensive with the added
electronics: #65 ($89 from EMC) I give
this one a 9.

EMC 2000 KEYBOARD

This keyboard is in a black plastic
housing and about the same size as the
2068. It has 53 keys and a 15 key numeric
pad. This one also has dedicated keys: the

LAZER 62

ENGLISH MICRO 2000

four arrows, EDIT, DELETE, break,
graphics, caps lock, + , *, period? three
user dedicated keys (will be dedicated on
subsequent models), and RUN. The RUN key
is interesting in that it actually RUNS
the program with one keystroke! The labels
come in two colors and are part of the
keys like the Lo-Profile.

This keyboard uses diode and tansistor
switching to obtain the extra keys and

seems to work as well as the Lazer. The
keyboard has a great feel with a lot of
spring to the keys. The Enter key is one
row too high which takes a little getting
used to and I would like to see dedicated
period and comma keys where they belong.
It is easy to get to the printed circuit
board for changing keys more to your
liking.

English Micro Connection sells these
for $69. I give this one a 9 also with the
slight advantages of it having a numeric
keypad, legends permanently attached, and
smaller size over the Lazer 62. The rest
of the keyboards are also available from
EMC and from England. Check current issues
of ZX Computing, Your Spectrum, etc.

After I had tried all of these on the
Spectrum, I set out to try them on the
2068. As it turned out, the keyboards
could easily be connected to the 2068 as
long as the "tails" could be unsoldered
and twisted - possible only on the Lazer
62, the Lo-Profile, and the EMC 2000. The
Spectrum has two tails. One tail has eight
connections and the other has five. The
2068 uses one tail of 13 connections to
one connector.

In the 2068, they used the same pin-out
as the Spectrum, but all in a row. The
tail with eight "pins" plugged into the
right side of the 2068 connector (facing
from the front of the computer) and the
tail with 5 "pins" must be rotated (so
that pin one is now five and vice-versa)
and is plugged into the 2068 connector
immediately to the left of the eight pin
connector. The 2068 socket has 14
positions and the final unused connection
on the far left is a ground.

Connected in this way I could use all
the extra dedicated keys, and at last, had
a full sized keyboard for my 2068! All the
keyboards we tried had plenty of room
inside for the 2068 board to fit without
too much modification to the base of the
new keyboard. I saw no easy way to utilize
the cartridge port once the 2068 was
fitted. However, a hinge arrangement where
the front would lift up looked like a
good possibility.

One last bit of info: the TS 1500 will
fit into any of these cases and work just
fine with the connections being the same
as the Spectrum!

— Joe Williamson

A Keyboard Interface for Any Timex Computer

For those who do not wish to go into
their computer to connect a new keyboard,
here is an interface which you can plug
on to the rear expansion buss. You can
easily add on one of those TI surplus
keyboards which are selling for as low as
five dollars.

This interface uses the same type of
decoding as the ULA inside erch of the
computers and will work on all Sinclair
computers, including the 2068 and the
Spectrum. The interface is basically an
input port which is scanned every so often
to see if a key has been pressed. The way
shown here does not buffer the address and
data lines very well, so you will need to
use short as possible wires running from
the keyboard to the 'interface and be care-
ful for shorts. I used eighteen inches on
mine with no problem.

Adding dedicated keys is easy. Most
will require that the caps or symbol shift
be initiated (shift on the TS 1000) as

well as the actual key with the function
you are trying for. Following the keyboard
layout diagram, We see that the caps shift
on the 2068 and the shift key on the 1000
both make contact between A8 and KBD0 . The
symbol shift makes contact between A15 and
KBD 1 .

i * «

Do-it-yourself keyboard interface

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,*.V. .a .» ^ C r i o /f' i "9

(W«+) ♦*••■»* S V , -’T±
oca-f.->-»v^«o 8*)OT<>±

Adding on the "extras" is easy,
requiring the addition of two diodes. Some
require the addition of a transistor and
diode. It all depends on where the "extra"
appears on the keyboard matrix. For
example, the period on the 2068 resides at
the intersection of A15 and KBD2 and
requires the symbol shift to be pressed.
Symbol shift is at the intersection of A15
and KBD1 . A15 is shared by both keys and
must make contact with both KBD1 and KBD2 .
The two diodes are added for isolation
(see diagram for period) so that no shorts
appear for the rest of the keyboard
matrix.

Adding the comma on the TS 1000 will
require contact between KBDO and A8 as
well as contact between KBD 1 and A15. To
accomplish this, a separate switching
action must take place for KBD1 and A15
the 2N3904 transistor works fine for this
task. When the key is pressed, KBDO and A8
make contact for the SHIFT operation and
at the same time, the transistor is

"turned on" to make contact between A15
and KBD1 to give the comma. See the
diagrams to add some of the more popular
f untions .

The extra keys that I like to have are:
DELETE, EDIT, period, comma, semi-colon,
colon, asterisk, graphics, and EXTENDED
mode (shifted FUNCTION on the 1000).
Because they lie in the same position and
require the same shift key, DELETE, EDIT,
and GRAPHICS mode are obtained the same
way on both types of machines .

The keyboard matrix is just that - a
matrix. In the diagram, wires running
vertically and horizontally do not touch
until a key is pressed. Each key has one
set of two contacts so that the vertical
lines go to one contact and the horizontal
goes to the other. As said before, keep
the wires short. To make them longer,
you should buffer the address lines.

While testing the four keyboards for
our keyboard review, I was able to connect
all the keyboards w*. had to the 2068 using
this interface and uad them all work well.
So upgrade that computer of yours so your
friends won't come over and say "You do
WHAT with that thing? i "

— Joe Williamson

SELECTIONS FROM OUR CATALOG

WESTRIDGE 2050 MODEM =>$110.00
TS2068

ROMSWITCFT"=> $43 . 95

MTERM II =>$27.95

MSCRIPT WORDPROCESSOR =>$22.95

STOCK PLOT =>$16.00

CHECKREC =>$12.00

PRO/FILE 2068 =>$26.95

ZIP COMPILER =>$19.95

HARNESS HORSE HANDICAPPER =>$19.95

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAPPER =>$19.95

GREYHOUND HANDICAPPER=> $19 . 95

SPEECH SYNTHESIZER =>$16.95

ALL QUICKSILVA TITLES =>$19.95

ZEAL DISASSEMBLER =>$15.95

TS2068 BASIC TOOLKIT =>$19.95

THE DEALER'S DEN =>$19.95

deduct 10Z from total order when

ZX81/TS1000/TS1500 (16K)

STOCK PLOT =>$14.00
CHECKREC =>$10.00
TEXTWRITER 1000 =>$11.95
TS1000 SUPERTAPE =>$22.95
HOUSEHOLD INVENTORY =>$10.00
SPEECH SYNTHESIZER =>$16.95
WAR in the EAST =>$16.95
ZX-CALC ( 64K ) =>$18.95
with accounting model =>$28.95
ZX PRO/FILE =>$16.95
***********

Please include $3 S4H per order.
Check or money order only.

NY residents add sales tax.

COD orders charge of $3.00
OVERSEAS orders add $3. 00/item.
buy two or more software packages

WMJ DATA SYSTEMS
4 Butterfly Drive-SUM
Hauppauge, NY 11788
(516)543-5252(24 Hours/7 Days)

CALL OR WRITE FOR OUR FREE CATALOG

The Zebra Graphics Tablet: A Review

The Zebra Graphics tablet is a hardware
and software combination using the popular
Koala Pad graphics tablet — the same type
used with Radio Shack, Apple, Commodore,
and other computers.

The hardware portion consists of an I/O
board with two integrated circuits, a few
resistors and diodes, and two sockets into
which the Koala Pad is plugged.

The Koala Pad has a pressure sensitive
surface in the shape of your TV screen
which can convert the touched portion of
this surface to computerese which tells
the 2068 where to draw on the TV screen. A
special stylus comes with the pad, but any
blunt object (even your finger) works
well. Two buttons are also provided for
screen control ( such as writing or
erasing). The drawing surface itself is
4.25" by 4.25". The entire unit is
slightly larger than the 2040 printer.

The important part is the software.
This is where the control comes in. The
package is supplied with Zebra Painter.
Zebra Painter takes the information sent
from the Koala Pad and allows you to draw
on the screen with the colors of your
choosing. You can also give coordinates to
make circles and straight lines.

Of the two control buttons, one is used
for draw/erase, and the other is for
command/select. You can choose what button
does what with the "LEFTY" command. The
screen commands are made by positioning
the drawing stylus such that the corres-
ponding pointer on the screen is over the
command word and pressing the command
/select button.

The keyboard commands are activated by
positioning the screen pointer over the
extreme right side of your menu and press
the command/ select button. You are then
prompted with "COMMANl)?" So you type it in
on the keyboard. Keyboard commands
includes COPY screen to 2040 printer, CLS,
WRITE text on screen, LEFTY button swap,
STORE active screen to inactive screen,
RESTR inactive screen to active screen,
EXCHG inactive & active screens , SAVE
screen to tape, and LOAD screen from tape.

You can choose any color INK, PAPER,
and BORDER colors with screen commands and
change them at any time. You have two
sizes you can draw with, PEN is one dot

This function plot
was generated in
BASIC and then
uas enhanced
with

Tech-Drau.

Conve rsely
you can use
Tech-Draw
Pictures in
your BASIC programs.

j.|* a S H H [> Ej 6 ft U S H

VERT

LINE

CIRC

UME>0

FIL

BCLR

BORD

TEXT

1*0

CLS

wide and high and BRUSH is five dots wide
and high. Precision drawing can be
accomplished by setting two points and
selecting the LINE command which draws a
straight line between the two defined
points. Circles can be drawn by defining
the center and edge. Directional drawing
can be vertical only, hori- zontal only,
or both.'

Zebra Painter worked well and was easy
to use. I found that I had the best
control over the drawing by pressing the
pad with the stylus perpendicular to the
pad and don't rest any part of your hand
on the surface (it may confuse it).

This article is really more of a
software review of the different software
packages available for the Zebra Graphics
tablet. I also got Tech Draw and Zebra
Circus Coloring Book. Tech-Draw is the
program to get!

Tech-Draw was inspired by Apple's
MacPaint for the Macintosh computer. Like
MacPaint, Tech-Draw works in black and
white, so what you see on your TV screen
is what you get on your printer. Tech-Draw
provides up to 35 black and white shades
and patterns which gives you resolution to
one pixel.

Tech-Draw can be printed out on either
a large sized printer (with Aerco or
Tasword interface), or the TS-2040. Copies
to the large printer can be screen size or
turned sideways to fill up a whole 8 1/2
by 1 1 sheet of paper.

Pop-up menus are given when choosing

shades and patterns or brush sizes and
shapes (16). A FILL command is provided to
fill in enclosed areas with the current
shade or pattern. The shade and brush type
can be changed at any time. Text can be
mixed in with the graphics in three sizes
and fonts (normal, italics, or bold). The
current setting is always given in the
sample box. The UNDO command allows you to
undo the last segment done.

The different options are selected by
positioning the pointer over your choice-
ana pressing the select button. The
commands listed in the ZebraPainter
section are also available in Tech-Draw
but everything except text is entered from
the graphics tablet itself.

I found Tech-Draw more enjoyable to use
than ZebraPainter. To satisfy my own
curiosity, and to test out the features of
Tech-Draw, I took a picture of a cat and
cut it down to fit the face of the cat on
the drawing surface and traced it onto the
screen 1 It worked remarkably well, when
you consider that I am no artist.

You can see from the sample that the
face was widened when transferred over,
but other than that, it traced very well.

I used as many of the different paint
brushes and shades as I could to aid me in
enhancing the drawing.

The manual which comes with Tech Draw
is very informative and contains many
ideas and sample pictures. Uploading and
downloading information for the modem is
also given.

The third program I got for use with
tne graphics tablet was Circus Coloring
Book which is just a fun program in which
you go through and color in different
pictures as you would with a regular
coloring book.

At first I wasn't all that excited
about the system; I just didn't see any
use for it. But after I used Tech-Draw for
awnile and made the cat and a few other
drawings and discovered how easy it was to
draw, I became very impressed and can see
all kinds of uses for it! Other than not
having a full 2068 edge connector feed-
through, I have really no complaints.

Once again, this works the same no
matter what computer its on. The software
is what makes it work so well. The
software (particularly Tech-Draw) is very
professional and puts this system in the
same league as say the MacPaint series for
the Apple, Speaking of Apple, it would be
nice if a mouse could be used with this

interface as well. Rumor has it that one
is being developed for the Spectrum in
England.

Available from: Zebra Systems, Inc.,

78-06 Jamaica Ave, Woodhaven, NY 11421

MTERM (Smart II) Telecommunications

— HINTS & TIPS —

The MTERM Smart II telecommunications
program for the Timex/Sinclair 2068
personal computer is a fine value. This
software package exceeds the capabilities
of many terminal programs far exceeding it
in cost. And because of MTERM* s wide
versatility, its users are still
uncovering more secrets of its power.

In these few pages are included hints
and tips as part of an addedum to my
manual entitled, "Timex Sinclair Smart
Terminal Telecommunications" . These
additional insights are a compilation
obtained from the users of Smart II
software and the author's experiences.

The following SMARTIPS are from Randy
& Lucy Gordon of the Timex/ Sinclair Users
Group, Cincinnati, Ohio:

* To get a file from a BBS you first need
to set your conversion to none. Toggle
your Buffer to open. Take in a file, then
close your Buffer. Next, escape to Basic.
The file should be saved like a normal
Basic program with SAVE "filename". You
will need the modem software to read this
file later.

* To view the file that you just saved to
tape, you must first LOAD the terminal
software, escape to BASIC and LOAD
"filename": PRINT USR 54016. This will
return you to the terminal program with
Buffer loaded. You must go to the Data
Buffer menu to view or print the file. In
view mode the spacerbar toggles the
scrolling (on/off).

* To receive a BASIC file from another
Sinclair user, you must both be in HEX
conversion. Normal system setup (you may
want to go to half duplex) . Close the
Buffer, escape to BASIC, and SAVE
"filename". NOTE: Anything after VARS
isn't transmitted (Buffer END=VARS) . This
means that any invisible variables are
lost unless VARS is "moved" to accomodate
the program variable stack. You must POKE
VARS, E_LINE. To do this you must PRINT
PEEK 23641 + 256* PEEK 23642 ( E_LINE),
take the value and POKE it to 23627/23628
(VARS). You can call programs back into

the computer like any other Basic file
with LOAD

* To send a Basic file, first be sure it
will fit in your Buffer. If you cleared
you will get out of memory error if the
file is larger than the Buffer area
(26710-54016), give or take a few bytes.
Get into the terminal mode and then go to
the Data Buffer menu. Press T for
Transmit. At the bottom of the screen the
menu Prompt Screen will appear; press
enter. Next, Character Delay will appear;
again press Enter. Enter again to take you
to the Main Menu. Press Enter one more
time to begin transmission. If you are in
Half Duplex you will see what you are
sending echo back to your screen. When
XMIT is finished you may do normal
pick-up.

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* To receive a machine code listing the
set-up is the same as the Basic file,
except when you escape to SAVE to tape.
The BASIC editor will appear as though # it
has "crashed" . (INVALID COLOR or NONSENSE
IN BASIC, ect.). Ignore this garbage and
SAVE "filename" CODE 26710, (the number of
bytes in the Buffer). Then you must Load
it back into the computer with Load
"filename" CODE (proper or normal
address), (number of bytes).

* To send a machine code program to
another Sinclair user you must first POKE
VARS, (53016) to leave room for Basic
overhead. POKE 23627, 24: POKE 23628, 207.
This gives a large Buffer to load Basic
in. Then you Load "machine code" CODE
26710: PRINT USR 54016. You must be in HEX
conversion. XMIT same as any other file.

* If by chance you can't get the dialtone
of your phone back, a 2050 modem relay may
be stuck open. Go to the main menu, press
§E1l to exit to Basic and enter WITHOUT
line number OUT 119, 0.

* Some Bulletin Boards will not accept a
CTRL-R or CTRL-T to open/close the buffer
remotely. An alternative is to enter
CTRL-S to stop tramsmission, then return
to the Buffer menu and toggle the Buffer
open or closed as required.

* MTERM patches for both TASMAN and AERCO
parallel print interfaces are available
for download from the Timex Bulletin Board
on Zebra Systems. PHONE: (718)296-2229.

* One method of fixing all keyboard
entries to upper case is to go to XLATE
table §K1I and change all lower case to
upper case. These values can also be
saved.

* The Bulletin B >ard SYSOP can read all

your messages, even private ones. If you
still want more privacy, how about sending
ciphertext or cryptogram messages? The
Smart II XLATE tabels facilitate

enciphering a message, and the recipient
to decipher it (provided they have the key
algorithm) . The folowing elementary

example illustrates the principle
involved: ,

Rotate the alphabet counter-
clockwise by three letters,
so that A=D , B=E , C=F,

X=A, Y=B , ect. Where = de-
notes "replaced by" as in
Basic programming.

If you send the PLAINTEXT
message,

TIMEX IS GREAT

The CIPHERTEXT would be

WLPHA LV JUHDW

To do this, change XLATE table §K1I so all
keyboard entries will then be sent in
ciphertext. The recipient can read the
encrypted message by going to XLATE table
and changing it to the reverse, i.e.,
D=A, E=B , X=A, ect

* The Sinclair Basic commands IN and OUT

operate by port command assignments (e.g.
the assignments for the 2050 modem are 119
and 115 decimal). Using these commands you
can program the 2068 in Basic to

Autodial/Auoanswer thru the 2050 modem.
Using the same procedure, you can program
to redial, dial a sequence of phone

numbers, etc. The following list of OUT
command meanings is for reference:

OUT 119,0 - Hang up phone .

OUT 119,1 - Stop carrier
tone? do not hang up phone.

OUT 119,2 - Start carrier
tone.

OUT 119,3 - Open modem
relay contacts.

OUT 119,4 - Close modem
relay contacts.

OUT 119,31 - Take phone off
hook for dail tone.

OUT 119,34 - Start carrier
tone.

A typical application is programming a
5 cycl^ loop containing OUT 119,3 and OUT
119,4 in sequence. This would be the
equivalent of dialing the number 5.

* The following list of popular Bulletin
Boards have Timex/Sinclair coverage:

Zebra Systems (718)296-2229 NY Omni-net
(718)837-2881 NY CompuServe Go PCS 54 OH
Micro-Systems (305)832-2503 FL River
Cities (304)652-1416 WV Serial Port
(313)286-0145 MI “ Barry Carter

EDITOR'S NOTE: Barry's MTERM II manual is
available for $6.50 at BOX 614, Warren, MI
48090.

100

Ultra Hi-Res Graphics on the Timex 2068

Amongst the differences between the
Spectrum and the 2068, there are the
2068' s video modes. These modes are not
directly reached by BASIC. To use them, we
must write some routines in machine
language. This machine code toolkit is for
the mode called "extended color". If we
type in normal mode:

CIRCLE 125,87, 50: PLOT 0,87: DRAW 1,0,255

we will see the flash attribute on eight
bytes. In the extended color mode, each
display file byte has its own attribute
byte. The color resolution is multiplied
by eight.

There is no use of POKES with the
toolkit. When we need to pass some
information to the machine code routine,
we use the form:

INPUT USR add, x, y

where add is the routine entry point, and
x & y are the information needed by the
routine .

First type in the HEXLOADER program and
SAVE it to tape. RUN the program and wait.
If an error is detected, the line number
will be printed. If there are no errors in
the DATA statements , an error report "OUT
OF DATA" will occur. Then RUN 550 to save
the toolkit code.

RANDOMIZE USR 62000 switches the
extended color mode on and a welcome
message should be printed at the top of
the screen. If not, type PRINT USR 0 and
LOAD the HEXLOADER to check the DATA lines
for any errors. Remember, its very

important to CLEAR 61999 before switching
into extended mode.

Here is a summary of the toolkit's
routines :

RANDOMIZE USR 62000 enables D_FILE2

RANDOMIZE USR 62048 clears D FILE1 and

D_FILE2.~CLS will
only clear D FILE 1 .

* If we have something
on the screen and we
want to change the
ink color without

erasing the screen,
INK x : RAND USR 62051
will do it. This
entry point erases
only D FILE2 , i.e.
the attribute file.

INPUT USR 62069, X,Y attributes on PLOT.

X= ( 8*PAPER) +INK. If
we want a plot with
yellow ink on blue
paper, then
X=( 8* 1 )+6=14
Y=FLASH/BRIGHT
if Y=1 then BRIGHT 1
Y=2 then FLASH 1
Y=3 then BRIGHT 1
and FLASH 1

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101

Y=0 then BRIGHT 1
and FLASH 1
These two arguments
are not optional.

INPUT USR 62105,X,Y fills a zone with the

attribute X and Y.

X= ( 8*PAPER) +INK
Y=FLASH/ BRIGHT
For example, enter
CIRCLE 125,87,80 and
PLOT INVERSE 1,125,87
to determine the
filling starting
point. If the screen
PAPER is black and
INK is yellow (if
not, use PAPER 0 : INK
6: RAND USR 62051 ) ,
type INPUT USR 62105,
14,0 to fill the
circle with green INK
because X=(8*0)+6=14

PRINT AT X , Y ; INK/PAPER/FLASH/BRIGHT ; CHR$

USR 62220

prints the variable
s$ with the different
attributes than the
current screen
attributes . For
example :

10 LET s$="This is a
test. . . "

20 PAPER Is INK 0 : RAND
USR 62048: REM CLS

30 PRINT AT 10,5;

FLASH 1? PAPER 0, INK
6; CHR$ USR 62220. If
you don't let s$
equal somethiNG, an
error report is given.

RANDOMIZE USR 62292 scrolls D__FILEl & 2

one character up.

RAND USR 62295 will
scroll up D_FILE2
only.

RANDOMIZE USR 62346 scrolls D_FILE1 & 2

one character down .
RAND USR 62360 will
scroll down D__FILE2
only.

RANDOMIZE USR 62446 scrolls D_FILE1 & 2

one character left.
RAND USR 62461 for
D_FILE2 only.

RANDOMIZE USR 62500 scrolls D_FILE1 & 2

one character right.
RAND USR 62515 for
DJFILE2 only.

TECHNICAL NOTES

Don't forget to always CLEAR 61999.
When D_FILE2 is in use and the toolkit is
in memory, there are 28268 bytes free to
BASIC.

The UDG area now begins at 63256. The
BASIC program begins at 31510. For a line
0, POKE 31511,0. To put machine code in
REM statements, poke at 31514 upward. To
SAVE a screen to tape, use:

SAVE "D_FILE1 " CODE 16384,6143

SAVE "D FILE2" CODE 24576,6143

At anytime, you can return to normal
mode using OUT 255,0 and return to
extended mode with OUT 255,2. When using
the fill routine (INPUT USR 62105,x,y), if
we reach the top or the bottom of the
screen, an error report "Integer out of
range" will occur. To overcome this
situation, use ON ERR GOTO and ON ERROR
RESET in your BASIC programs .

The DRAW command works but we don't
have any control over the attribute. Same
thing for CIRCLE. In extended color mode,
attribute file2 is opened but not used. If
you want you can use it to put machine
code there. ATT_FILE2 is between 30720 and
31487 (767 bytes long). (Ed. note, only
use RAND USR 62000 once.)

— Real Gagnon

(544 Hermine #2, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
GIN 2G6 )

1 REM HEXLOADER TOOLKIT ULTRA
RES 2068 GAG-085

5 CLEAR 61999: LET a=10: LET
b=1 1 : LET c=12 : LET d=13: LET e
=14: LET f=15

10 LET line=1 00 : LET add=62000

15 READ s$,sum: LET tot=0

20' LET byte=16*VAL s$(1)+VAL s
$ ( 2 ) : LET tot=tot+byte : POKE ad
d,byte

102

25 LET s$=s$ ( 3 TO ): LET add=a
dd+1 : IF s$<>"" THEN GO TO 20
30 POKE 23692,255: IF sum=tot
THEN PRINT "Line ";line;" OK":

LET line=line+1 : GO TO 15
40 BEEP .1,1: PRINT "Error at
line ";line: STOP ,

100 DATA "01FEFECD99643E02CD8E0
E0 1FF00CD59FCCD60F22 1 5AF406407E
D72310FB212067CD57F22 1006006203
E877723 1 0FCC9CDE4083A8D5C320060
2100601 1016001", 6628

101 DATA "0018EDB0C9CDDC1BCD602
678FE002808CB18CB18CB18E6C0C5ED
4B7D5CCD03260 1 002009C17881 77C9C
DDC 1 BCD6026CDF9F2ED5B7D5CCDC0F2
2006CDDFF2 1418 ",8153

102 DATA "F5ED5B7D5C 1 5CDC0F2C0C
DDFF2 15 18F6424BCD03264704487E07

1 0FDCB47C0CBC74 1 0F1 0FD770 100200
93AF8F277C91CCDC0F2200218F83A7D
5C5F1DCDC0F220" ,7828

103 DATA "0218F83A7D5C5FC90078F
E002808CB18CB18CB18E6C0788132F8
F2C92A4B53ED4B595CE5ED422809E17
EFE53280523 18F2CF0 123237EFE0028
052318E6CF012B" ,6911

104 DATA " 46232 3C5CD4 1 F3C1 7ED7 1
0F63E08D74EC9E52A845C3A8F5C1 100
20 1906087724 10FCE1C9CD39092 1006
01 1E05BD5E53E03012000C5E5EDBOD1
0EE0EDB0060709" , 6928

105 DATA "3DC 1 20F04 1 3A8D5C 12131
0FCE1D1247CFE6838D9EB732C20FCC9
21FF571 1FF5B3E0001EDF302180D21F
F771 1FF5B3A8D5C01EDF302D5E53E03
0 1 2000C5E5EDB8" , 7542

106 DATA "D10EE0EDB806F909C13D2
0F0413AEDF3121B10FCE1D1257CF53A
EDF3FE00200EF1FE5030D0AF0620121
B10FC18BAF1FE7030C2AF0620121B10
FCC900000021 0 1 ", 7429

107 DATA "401 1 00403E000 1EDF302C
D0AF42101601 1 00603A8D5C0 1EDF302
01C000ED43EBF301 1F00EDB03AEDF31

2 1 323ED4BEBF30D20EAC92 1FE57 1 1FF
573E000 1EDF302" , 6744

108 DATA "CD40F42 1FE77 1 1FF773A8
D5C0 1EDF3020 1C000ED43EBF30 1 1F00
EDB83AEDF3 1 2 1B2BED4BEBF30D20EAC
9554C545241 204849474820434F4C4F
52205245534F4C" ,6956

109 DATA "5554494F4E20323036385
44F4F4C4B49542020202020474 1472D
6F2020202076657273696F6E20332E3
5000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000", 2796

500 REM SAVE HEXLOADER

510 SAVE "ultra_1 " : PRINT " Ver
ify ";: VERIFY PRINT "OK":

STOP

550 REM Save Machine Code
560 SAVE "ultra_c"CODE 62000,62
0: PRINT " Verify " ;: VERIFY ""
CODE : PRINT "OK": STOP

1 REM DEMOl GAG- 08 5
5 PAPER 0: INK 0: RANDOMIZE U
SR 62048

10 LET r=35 : LET s=35: LET t=87
20 FOR n=0 TO 2*PI STEP PI/55
30 LET x=r*COS n: LET y=r*SIN r\
35 LET papink=( 8*0 )+( (RND* 6 )+l)
40 PLOT x+s,y+t
45 INPUT USR 62069, papink.O
50 NEXT n

55 BEEP .1,-1: LET S$=" PRE

SS A KEY "

60 PRINT AT 20,0; BRIGHT 1; IN
K 4;CHR$ USR 62220: REM print s$
70 PAUSE 0: FOR i=0 TO 31
80 RANDOMIZE USR 62500: REM sc
roll right
90 NEXT i

1 REM DEM02 GAG- 08 5
5 PAPER 0: INK 1: BORDER 0: R
ANDOMIZE USR 62048
9 REM house
1 0 PLOT 8,10

20 DRAW 48,0: DRAW 0,48: DRAW
-48,0: DRAW 0,-48

30 PLOT 56,10: DRAW 70,20: DRA
W 0,48: DRAW -70,-20

40 PLOT 8,58: DRAW 24,30: DRAW
24,-30

50 DRAW 70,20: DRAW -24,30: DR
AW -70,-20

60 PLOT 0,130: DRAW 175,-10: D
RAW 80,10: DRAW 0,45: DRAW -255
,0: DRAW 0,-45: REM sky

70 PLOT 0,80: DRAW 30,30: DRAW
135,-5: DRAW 90,-25: REM grass
300 PLOT INVERSE 1,15,15: INPU
T USR 62105,5,0: REM fill house
310 PLOT INVERSE 1,57,20: INPU
T USR 62105,6,0: PLOT INVERSE
1,122,59: INPUT USR 62105,6,0
320 PLOT INVERSE 1,32,71: INPU
T USR 62105,2,0

330 PLOT INVERSE 1,175,150: IN
PUT USR 62105,1,0: REM fill sky
340 PLOT INVERSE 1,0,116: INPU
T USR 62105,4,0: REM fill grass
700 CIRCLE INVERSE 1,180,150,10

103

DK’Tronics Three Channel Sound Synthesizer

The DK'TRONICS Sound Synthesiser is a
hardware and software combination using
the AY-3-8912 programmable sound generator
integrated chip — the same as that used
in the 2068.

The hardware portion comes attractively
packaged complete with feed through
connector for other peripherals. Also
included is a four inch speaker in its own
separate cabinet. A volume control sticks
out the top which controls overall
volume as well as tne BEEP volume.

The chip itself has 14 internal
registers, each dealing with a specific
function of sound output. To create your
own sound and noise effects, you must
first enable the desired register and then
fill it witn the data for the sound you
wisn to make (same as with the 2068).

To enable a register, this interface
uses OUT 63, register number (0-13). To
send data, it uses OUT 95, data. The
registers are used to control the tone of

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the three channels, the white noise
frequency, the volume for each channel,
the envelope period, the envelope shape,
and the enabling of all channels.

The manual gives a good summary of all
the register functions and musical note
data. Also included in the manual are
several short routines for you to use to
program the synthesiser and instructions
for using the software which comes with
the package.

The software that comes with it allows
you to set all the registers to any mode
and enter on a piano-like keyboard
displayed on the screen the music you wish
to play. The program allows the use of a
joystick supporting the . DK'TRONICS,
KEMPSTON, and INTERFACE 2 types.

The program comes up running and greets
you with a menu at the top and a piano
keyboard at the bottom. In the middle is a
window for all three sound channels. You
have the ability of programming three
tunes each holding up to 768 notes (256
per channel). If you select tune 1 and
choose the play option you will hear a
pre-programmed tune. In my case it was
Simon and Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rose-
mary and Tyme.

As the tune plays, the current notes
being played are displayed in the window,
so you can easily find where the mistakes
are while working on your own composition.

To program your own music, you would
select the RECord option which turns
joystick control (or arrow keys) to an
arrow which can be moved to point to each
of the keys on the piano-like keyboard.
When you come upon the key which you want,
you simply press fire or "0" and it is
recorded into memory and is displayed in
the window of the current channel bein b
programmed. If you choose middle C which
is in the third octave, it would be
displayed as C3 . Middle C# is displayed as
C 1 3 .

Available from DAMCO ENTERPRISES, 67
Bradley ct., Fall River, MA 02720 (617)
678-2110. Also available from ENGLISH
MICRO CONNECTIONS and several dealers in
England .

— Joe Williamson

104

Review: ZX Computing Magazine

EDITOR’S ROTE: With this article, SUM is
beginning a new series on other publica-
tions of interest to Timex/Sinclair users.

ZX COMPUTING is one of the most popular
British publications devoted exclusively
to the Sinclair computers. Having had a
subscription to it for more than 2 years,
there are certain things that can be said
with confidence about it.

ZX COMPUTING covers both the ZX-81 and
Spectrum computers. This is good news for
users of the ZX-81 and TS-1000 since most
other publications seldom provide infor-
mation for these users. Every issue will
have 2 or more complete listings of games
and/or utilities just for the ZX-81. And
these are generally quite substantial, re-
quiring the 16K RAM and are quite sophis-
ticated. A number of software and hardware
reviews also appear in each issue as well
as advertising by companies serving the
ZX-81 market.

The Spectrum is the main computer sup-
ported by the magazine, with 8-10 programs
listed in full each issue. Most listings
are in BASIC, so they will run on the 2068
with no modification except for a few PEEK
or POKE commands (or as is with ROMswitch
or emulator). In addition, numerous re-
views of hardware and software currently
available is covered. For those with QLs,
an occasional article is starting to ap-
pear for those machines. After two years,

I have dozens of quite good games — most
of which I haven’t had the time to type
in. However, I have been generally happy
with the quality of those I have entered,
some of them true commercial quality.

Examples of programs found in the most
recent issue:

1. Clock — machine code utility for using
the Spectrum’s own built-in clock to dis-
play time;

2. Sappro — space strategy game;

3. Pluto Adventure — text adventure game;

4. QL Characteristics — udg’s on the QL;

5. Road Race — ZX-81 graphics game

6. Spectrum Disassembler in BASIC;

7. FISH — like the card game on Spectrum;

8. Ask Me Another — educational program
for Spectrum which can be customized;

9. Attack of the Mutant Wallies — arcade
game; a ”wally” is the same as a ”nerd”;

10. Twenty-One — similar to Blackjack but
uses ’’computer dice” on the ZX-81.

The current issue had articles on mach-
ine code programming, microdrive tricks,
full-size keyboard review, at least 12
software reviews, 4 book reviews, and lots
of letters to the editor.

ZX COMPUTING is primarily oriented to-
ward games as far as program listings go.
However, the articles span the range from
machine code to microdrive use, and from
trouble shooting to book reviews. It is
published six times per year and seems to
always be on time. U.S.A. surface rates
are $30/year. In addition, back issues and
program listings on tape are available. A
typical issue seems to be around 120
pages. Access (Mastercard) and Visa are
accepted.

ZX COMPUTING Subscriptions, Infonet
Ltd. , Times House, 179 The Marlowes, Hemel
Hempstead, Herts HP1 IBB, England.

tLABISm

CONTROLLER BOARD FOR TS 2068
SPECTRUM EMUL A TOR COMPA T/BLE

- High speed : loads 32k bytes in 7.5 seconds

- commands are : LOAD SAVE DIRECTORY DELETE
FORMAT COPY MOVE and BADBLOCKS

- Uses IBM PC compatible 5 1/4 " double sided

disk drives (SHUGART SA455 or compatible)

- Disk capacity : 160 k bytes

- Dos Is on a bank switched 2K eprom

- Only I USR call is required

- Assembled and tested ,all cables and connectors
supplied

- Single drive version is available now but a second
drive can be easily added (this mod will be available
before FEB 86)

- 60 day money back guarantee

- Made in CANADA , many already in use
Price :

$95.00(US) + $6.00 shipping

From : LARKEN ELECTRONICS
RR*2 NAVAN ONTARIO
CANADA K4B-1H9

105

Poor Man’s Word Processor/TS*2068

This program was developed to be used
with a "home brew" interface before I
found John Oliger had a neat little

interface that is hard to beat. The
program can be used with any printer. Some
modifications may have to be made since
this one was for use with the JUKI 2200.
(I don't recommend the JUKI 2200 however
since, in my opinion, it has serious
shortcomings, unknown to me, until after
purchase. )

Enter the program as shown. To LOAD
program, use LOAD "WP" or "" . It will auto
run when loaded. To become familiar with
the program, STOP the program when
prompted to do so by entering any letter.
The program is looking for a number. A
letter will stop it with error: 2 Variable
not found, 1340:1.

LIST the program and notice the program
has line numbers 1, 2, then skips to 999.
These missing line numbers are used for
DATA lines containing your material to be
printed. Each paragraph is typed in using
a line number and the DATA statement. Like
this example:

10 DATA "This is the sentence to be
printed. "

Printed, it will look like this:

This is the sentence to be printed.

An empty DATA line results in a skipped
line for paragraph seperation. An easier
method is to use a comma and a pair of
quotes at the end of a line. Example:

10 DATA "This is the sentence to be
printed",""

The comma and double quotes prints a blank
line .

The program starts at line 1330. A is
the line counter. B is the page counter
and is initially set at 49 (ASCII for 1).
Poke 23609, 50 sounds a BEEP at each

keystroke. POKE a smaller number to 23609
for a shorter BEEP or larger number for a
longer BEEP.

Line 1340 selects number of characters
printed per inch. If your printer does not

have this capability, you will need to
know haw many characters per inch your
printer does print and change line 1340
to: 1340 LET E=n. Where n equals
characters per inch and DELETE lines 1339,
1350, and 1360.

Line 1370 lets you select printer line
length. The numbers printed on the screen
suggest three sizes. However any
reasonable number, including fractions
like 4.5, 4.6, 5.4 etc. can be used.

Selection is done by: E (set in line
1340) * number selected (F)= number of
characters per line (D). Example: If E=12
and 4 is entered, 12*4=48 characters per
line .

characters per line direct, change line
1340 to: 1340 INPUT; "Enter number of
characters per line "?D. Any method may be
used but since D=number of characters per
line, it must be defined. Lines 1380 to
1405 set the parameters for the JUKI.
DELETE these lines or change as needed for
your printer.

Lines 1410 to 1440 allow entering of
prerecorded DATA files. Press M and start
tape. When tape is loaded, printing will
start automatically. If the program
already has a data file within, pressing
ENTER will start the printing process.
CAUTION: Do not enter a DATA file that
uses lines 1 , 2 or 999 to 1510. TO do so
will invalidate the program.

Before printing starts, several things
take place. First, line 1450 determines if
this is the first page to be printed. If
it is, the program goes to line 1510 where
A is moved from 1 to 7. This shortens the
page by 7 lines to allow for headings. If
not the first page, then lines 1469 to
1500 are executed. If this is not the
first page, line 1470 prints page number
then skips a line before printing
continues .

Line 1469 checks to see if the printer
is busy. If it is, the line loops itself
until the printer is no longer busy. This
same check will be found before each OUT
statement where needed.

Line 1500 directs the program to line
1010. Lines 1010 to 1090 loads A$ with
first, or next DATA statement and looks at
the end of the line to see if it ends in a

106

space. If not, a space is entered between
the first and second word and the check is
made again. If there is still no space at
the end, a space is added between the
second and third word and continues until
a space is found at the end of the line.

When all lines in the DATA statement
are properly spaced, the sentence or
paragraph will be printed on the screen
and to the printer. Because the screen is
only 32 characters wide, it will not
illustrate the actual printing. What you
see is NOT what you get.

Lines 1095 to 1130 send one character
at a time to the printer. Line 1120 checks
to see if the proper number of characters
per line have been printed. When line is
full, line 1160 counts the line number and
outputs a line feed to the printer. Line
1170 resets V, the character counter and
returns to the printing loop.

Line 1140 sets printer to the next line
and goes to line 1000 where the line count
variable A is checked to see if 52 or more
lines have been printed. If not, another
DATA statement is loaded into A$ and the
procedure is repeated.

If more than 52 lines (45 for 1st page)
have been printed, program goes to line
1290 where program is halted and message
to change paper is printed. Entering a P
in either upper or lower case continues
printing at line 1470.

The program continues until all DATA
lines are sent to the printer. At this
time the program stops with out of data
statement. To reprint the same text, RUN
the program again.

There will be a delay between a request
for printing and actual printing. This
delay is due to the time it takes for the
BASIC program to check for and introduce
spaces between words. Generally, the
longer the sentence or paragraph, the
longer the delay.

There are a couple of pitfalls to be
aware of. If the line length selected is
too short or there are too many long words
in the line, there may not be enough
spaces available to arrive at a space at
the end of the line. Spaces are only added
one time between each word. If this does
not bring a space to the end of the line,
a word will be broken. This happens so
seldom it is not considered a problem. If
it does, rearrange the sentence.

The lines in a complete paragraph are
counted before the algorithm for end of
page is executed. This was done to enable

the complete paragraph to be printed
intact. If the last paragraph is too long
you can run out of paper. Again this has
not been a problem but can happen. If this
becomes a problem, change the count in
line 1000 to less than 52.

A backup copy of this program is
recommended. Use GOTO 1280 to SAVE.
Program will auto run when loaded. Good
printing!

— Thornton E. Benson
Benson, AZ

1 REM *WQRD PROCESSOR FOR
JUKI LETTER PRINTER. Thornton E.

Benson. A 1985

2 GO TO 1330

999 REM *C0UNTS LINE NUM. FOR
END OF PAGE, ISERT SPACE IN
FIRST LINE OF TEXT. SENDS TEXT
TO PRINTER IF LESS THAN ONE
LINE LONG.*

1000 IF A>=52 THEN GO TO 1290
1010 CLS : READ A$

1020 IF LEN A$<D+1 THEN GO TO 10
95

1027 REM *ALGORITHIM FOR INSERT
SPACES UNTIL SPACE AT END OF
LINE*

1030 LET N=0

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2068 • 1000/1500 - SPECTRUM

• Readers nationwide
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• Published "On Time "

• Interesting Articles / Programs

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107

1035 FOR N=N TO LEN A$ STEP D
1040 IF N+D>LEN A$ THEN GO TO 10
95

1045 FOR X=N+1 TO N+D

1050 IF A$(N+D)=CHR$ 32 THEN GO

TO 1080

1052 IF X-1=0 THEN GO TO 1080
1055 IF A$(X)=" " AND A$(X-1)<>"
" THEN GO TO 1070
1060 GO TO 1080
1065 STOP

1070 LET A$=A$( TO X)+" "+A$(X+1
TO )

1075 IF A$(N+D)=CHR$ 32 THEN NEX
T N

1080 IF N+D>LEN A$ THEN GO TO 10
95

1085 NEXT X

1090 NEXT N

1091 REM *PRINTS PARAGRAPH AND
SENDS LETTERS ONE AT A TIME TO
PRINTER*

1095 LET A=A+1 : PRINT A$

1100 LET V=1

1105 FOR Z=1 TO LEN A$

1109 IF IN 127=253 THEN GO TO 11
09

1110 OUT 127, CODE A$(Z)

1115 LET V=V+1

1120 IF V=D+1 THEN GO SUB 1160
1130 NEXT Z

1139 IF IN 127=253 THEN GO TO 11
39

1140 OUT 127,13

1150 CLS : GO TO 1000
1160 LET A=A+1 : OUT 127,13
1170 LET V=l: RETURN
1178 REM *SAVES PROGRAM AND
AUK) RUN ON LOAD*

1280 SAVE "WP" LINE 1
1285 STOP

1289 REM *STEPS PAPER TO NEXT
PAGE AND NUMBERS PAGE*

1290 PRINT AT 10, 6; "Change paper

1310 INFUT "Enter ""P"" to conti
nue ";Q$

1320 IF Q$="p" OR Q$="P" THEN GO
TO 1470

1325 GO TO 1310

1329 REM *START OF PROGRAM*

1330 LET A=l: LET B=49: POKE 236
09,50

1335 PRINT AT 10,3; """STOP"" pro
gram at this time";TAB 4; "to ent
er text by entering" ;TAB 4;"any
LETTER."

1339 REM *SETS PRINTER PARAMETER
S*

1340 INPUT "SELECT PITCH: 10, 12
OR 15 "*E: CLS

1350 IF E<>10 AND E<>12 AND E<>1
5 THEN GO TO 1340
1360 IF INKEY$<>"" THEN GO TO 13
60

1369 REM *SELECTS LINE LENGTH &
PROGRAMS PRINTER*

1370 INPUT "ENTER LINE LENGTH (4

TO 7) 4=NCTIE SIZE: 6=LETTE

R SIZE 7=FULL PAGE. ";F: LE

T D=INT E*F

1380 IF E=10 THEN LET F=13
1390 IF E=12 THEN LET F=ll
1400 IF E=15 THEN LET F=9
1405 OUT 127,27: OUT 127,31: OUT
127, F

1409 REM *PROVISIONS FOR ENTERIN
G PRERECORDED FILES*

1410 CLS : PRINT AT 10,2;"T0 MER
GE FILE TOUCH ""M""";AT 12,2; "TO

PRINT TOUCH ""ENTER"""

1420 LET Y=CODE INKEY$: IF Y<>10
9 AND Y<>77 AND Y<>13 THEN GO TO
1420

1430 IF Y=13 THEN GO TO 1450
1435 CLS : PRINT AT 10,3;"INSERT
TAPE AND PRESS PLAY"

1440 MERGE ""

1449 REM *IF NOT 1ST PAGE NUMBER
S PAGE, RESETS LINE COUNTER &
ADVANCES PAGE COUNTER*

1450 IF B=49 THEN GO TO 1510

1469 IF IN 127=253 THEN GO TO 14
69

1470 OUT 127, B: OUT 127,13
1480 LET A=1

1490 LET B=B+1
1500 GO TO 1010

1509 REM *SETS 1ST PAGE 7 LINES
SHORTER FOR HEADING ROOM*

1510 LET A=7: CO TO 1490

108

Enhancing the A & J Microdrive

• l

Here is my collection of some of the
programs I have come up with which will
enhance some of your programs ( like
Tasword and VU-Calc) to make full use of
your Microdrives.

With Tasword, one hint that will help
in re-saving text files when several are
on one tape is to place several asterisks
at the last position in the file in line
300. This will create a file on tape cap-
able of holding up to 300 lines, even
though your current file is smaller. This
will prevent saving over the next program
or file on that tape.

— Howard Ballinger

REM “ i? 1 “ 2-1-85

( Houj a r d h . Ballinger
636 Albemarl e,'

E L Ce r r i t o ca 94530 )
u p d ate of s-9-6 5

REM

Sa v e me onto the beginning o f a n
Pi Sc J M i c r o D r i v e m i c r o t a p e a n d
y o u c an c a t a L o g its c o n t e n t s o n
screen or on a TS-2040 printer.

62 LtT UJ$ = INKEY $ : IF u>$ = " " THE

N GO TO 62

63 IF U.i$ = “l" THEN GO SUB 20: G

0 SUB 22: FKlNT PIT 10,1; PAPER 5

“TURN PRINTER ON IF YOU UR NT TO
": PAUSE 120: CLS : LORD "81“

64 Ir «D$ = "2" THEN GO SUB 20: G

0 SUB 22: PRINT RT 8. 2; “ENTER ex

a c t f i l e n ame ( s t a r t s a>i th “ “ a

""j": INPUT L $ : GO SUB 23: LORD

66 IF UJ$ = "0" THEN GO SUB 20: 5

LEP .1,16: BEEP .3,-12: GO TO QQ

67 IF Ul$ = “ 3 " THEN GO TO 99

69 GO TO 62

70 REM

71 PRINT RT 2,19; : RT

4, 19 ; "O f S/F it 1“ ; RT 5,19 '= 1

: FOR t=l TO 21: PRINT RT

t ,0; " “ j CHR $ i 49 + 1 ) : N

EXT t

72 P c ' INT RT 3 , 19 ; " F i t e « f o r “ ;
RT 9 , 19.; “nex t SRUE” ; RT 10 , 19 ; " i ■=.

rna r K. e d “ RT 11,22; 8 1 “ “ “ . copy

: input “Press ENTER to proceed

LINE q $

73 GO TO 60

90 GO SUB 22 : GO TO 70

99 GO SUB 23: PRINT RT 16,5; “S

aving ...": SRUE "ei,i“ line 90 :
PRINT fit 13,10, " v e r i r m i n q . . . “ :
GO SUB 23: UERIFY "81“ : GO SUB

22: GO TO 9999

3 REM ... I fold UP the

c a t a 1. 0 g Lists f r om the printer
a n d tee p 'em in a f 0 L d e r uj i t h
the microtapes themselves --
neat ! !

5 REM

TO USE , TURN OFF printer;
INSERT t h e tape i n t h e d r i v e ,
cNTER LORD "81” and then just
follow prompts.

6 REM To SRUE me to another

m i c r 0 t a p e , see me n u .

Let the good times roll with]

HI-RCS GflMCS

for TS1000/1500/ZXB1. High res
equals TS2068 without hardware
^ighly-rated, 16K, Action-packed
Rocketman — Fortyniner — ZXtricator
$9.*each or any 3 for $25.*

ACRCO Dish Drive System in stock now

9 REM

19 BORDER 0: PAPER 0: INK 7- O

LS : RETURN

20 BORDER 7: PAPER 7: INK 0- C

LS : RETURN

22 BEEP .1,12: BEEP .1.-12: BE

EP .1,16: RETURN

23 BEEP .1,7: BEEP .1.19: RETU

60 GO SUB 23; GO SUB 19- PRINT
RT 3, 14; "RT-ONE" ; RT 4.14;“®

.; RT 6 , 2 .; "l ,x 0 cat a 1 0 g t h is Mi c
r 0 t a p e " hT 3 , 2 ; “ h 1 0 1 0 a d a f i l e
" RT 12,2; "0 to enter Basic"

61 PRINT hT 10.2; "3 to save At
-One "

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109

4-0 l? 0 "TO y00 0_
50 PRINT

55 INPUT "ID code for this tap
£ : ".ITS

100 GO SUB 8383: SPUE "01 ,

200 l_5T P = 1

1000 REM

1050 D IM f $ < 87 , 100 )

1090 ON ERR GO TO 7000

1100 LET P$=5TR$ P: SPUE "0"+P$+

" .BtnfcFL "+P$ DPTP f$t)

lil0 ON ERR RESET

1150 UER IFY "OB L n k F l " +P $ DPTP f$

1200 POKE 23592.255: PRINT “ NO

U " ; p * 10 “ K . B TTS PR_E CHECKED ,

1250 PRINT ~ ~

1500 LET H=P+i: GO TO 1090

2100 SPUE "91, Tape Chk" L I H E 908 0
: PRINT PT 21,19; " gg ggiBg gl iBggl "

: UER IFY " OT a P £ Ch k “

2200 LET P=1

2300 BORDER 0: INK 7: PPPER 0: C

2400

3050

3100

3110

TR $

DPTP

3120

3150

3200

ED . "

PRINT PT 4,0
DIM f $ (37, 100 J
ON ERR GO TO 4000
LET B £ =5TR $ (P + 1) : LET P$=S

R: SPUE ”0”+B$ + " , blfUFl"+fl*

f $ ( )

ON ERR RESET

UER IFY "Ob In kF L " + P$ DPTP f$

POKE 23692,255: PRINT " NO

( P * 1 0 + 3 ) " K . BYT ES PRE CHE C K

3250 PRINT

3500 LET P=P+1: GO TO 3100

4000 ON ERR RESET
4010 ON ERR RESET

4020 LPRINT TPB 10;"+ * * * * *

PHP5E II: " ; 10+ (P-1) +3.; " K. 0

F FILES SPUED"'"* VERIFIED, INCL
UDING " "OTapeCh k " ' ' " Bye ! " ' ' '
4100 GO TO 9999

6700 CLEPR : SPUE "TapeChk " LINE

9000: SPUE "TapeChk." LINE 9000:

U E R I F Y "TapeChk": GO T 0 9 9 9 9

7000 ON ERR RESET

7050 LPRINT OTapeCheck"" we

P o r t f o r " ' " M i c r o t a pe " .; T $

7180 LPRINT '"SPUED & 'VERIFIED "
; p-1 ; " FILES OF" ' "ABOUT 10 K , LEN
GTH COUNTING GAPS . NO ERRORS SO F
PR. PROCEEDING WITH PHASE II.

71 50 CLEPR • PR INT PT 21,0; "j j
7200 GO TO 2000

8800 PRINT SI ; PT 0,0; "at END OF
FILE ... GO TO 7000": RETURN

8888 CLS : FOR n=l TO 22+32: PRI

NT FLASH 1 ; ; : NEXT n : PRINT P

PT n.,10; PPPER 6;

s 10 spaces
RETURN

NEXT n : REM that

8990 PRIN T PT 21, 0'

9005 INK 0 : PPPER 7

9010 CLS : BORDER 2: PRINT PT 9

5; PPPER 5;" PUT PRINTER ONLINE

INPUT ; “then press
": LINE H$: CLS

9899 GO i 0 “O

1 rem V.V.VAVW.V.WiV«^

THIS IS “0tZ “ Vb

AV.W.VAV.V.V.V^

2 REM ... a modi Tied

3 REM AV INSTRUCTIONS VA
To use, get out your cassette of
Ta sword and Load it into the
2053. Press STOP, “b“, & ENTER
twice. Insert a fresh formatted
micro tape, 3 s or SO ft. Length,
i n t o the M i c r o D r ive .

4 REM ... Now, type

the following Lines (not the HtM
statements, however) into the
Basic part of your program. When
finished, j u s t RUN it, g o ba c K
to the menu, press "t" and stand
ba c K ! ! !

3 GO SUB Uhl “11“

11 BEEP URL ”.03“, UHL “15“ : BE

EP URL “.03“ , URL “23”: RETURN

15 POKE URL “23609“ , URL “2”: C

LERR URL “33279“: GO SUB URL “40

00“ : PRINT RT URL “1“,URL “0“ : L

ORD “Gtaswo r d “CODE : CLS : GO 5U

B URL “11“ : LET a =U5R URL “59051

“: GO TO URL “10“

300 CLS : GO SUB URL “4000“: PR

INT “Printer control graphics ch
a r s : “

400 CLS

401 GO SUB URL “4000“: PRINT RT

URL “ 3“ , URL “0“ “ jus t to

Keep values given:”

699 CLS : GO TO 9999

TOO CLS : LET i =URL “8“ : GO SUB

URL “300“ : LET a $ = “ t aswo r d “ : SH

UE “ @2 , t 2 “ LINE URL “15“

710 SRUE “03, tasword“CODE URL “
54754“, URL “10751“: GO SUB URL “

900“

730 UER IFY
“21“ , URL “0“
; RT URL "
790 UER IFY
“54784“ , URL

“0tZ“: PRINT RT URL

19”, URL “0“ ;
“etasword” CODc. URL
“10751”: PRINT RT UR

L “21“ , URL “20“
GO TO URL “25“
300 PRINT RT i
“ “ 0 1 z “ “ & fas wo

900
v e r i
920
930
940
945
1030

PRINT
f y i n g ,
REM
REM
REM
REM
LET i :

RT URL “12“
. . " : RETURN
DELETE THIS
DELETE THIS
DELETE THIS
DELETE THIS
:URL ”12’

, URL

s a v i n g

a $ :

LINE
LINE
LINE
LINE
CLS
SRUE

PRINT
a $COD£

b . a : CLS

1050 REM DELETE THIS LINE
1095 IF a $ ( 1) =“0“ THEN PRINT

v erifying . . . “ : UER IFY i “ 0
“ + a $ ( 4 TO ) ) CODt b , a : GO TO URL

“ 1110 “

2010 PRINT RT URL “12“ , URL ”2“;“
*.i u s t press ENT nR to load the“.;Rs
URL “14“ , URL “h“; “ first file (c
as se t te on ly ) “

9999 GO SUB 4000

110

1 STOP

2 REM

3 REM TO USE , LORD Uu-File
from your cassette -- press " L “
then break to get to basic --
LIST the basic and fix it so it
looks like this. Insert a blank
micro tape and enter GO TO 40 for
auto -s a v e .

4 REM No., don't type the

RcM statements.

5 REM TO LORD fi FILE FROM

CASSETTE, GO TO 45

40 INPUT "BLANK TAPE IN DRIUE
0 LINE b$

42 SAUc "21 , " LINE SO: VERIFY

" 2 " : SAVE " 22 , V f C " CODE 2S2SS . 72 1

6: UtRIi-Y “2v f C "CODE : GO Tfl QQQ

45 CLS : PRINT play the

cassette . . . " : go sub 5000 - lard

""CODE S: GO TO USR a

50 BORDER 1: PAPER 1: INK 1: C

LEhR 2S2S7: LOAD "2vfC"C0DE

100 INK 7: DIM f$(32): LET 3 =23

2y 1 : BEEP UhL ".2". UAL "IS": BEE

P UAL “ . 1 UAL "34": GO TO USR 2

S23S

1000 CLS : PRINT savin

9 . . . " : GO SUB 6000: GO TO USR a

1005 SPUE "23 , f i le "CODE s.l: PR I

NT ve r i f y i ng . . . " : PR IN

1100: VERIFY "2 file "CODE : BEEP

.2,18: BEEP .1.34

1200 GO TO USR a

2000 CLS : PRINT load in

9 GO SUB 6000: LOAD "2fiie

"CODE S : GO TO USR a

3000 L PRINT f$( TO 32) : GO TO US

R a

6000 LET g$=“2f i Le" : LET f$r rn
10) =g $ LE i s =CODE f $ i 11) +256*00
DE f $ i 1 2 ) : LET L =CODE f$(13)+256

*CODE f $ ( 1 4 ) : RETURN

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111

Header-Reader for 2068

Loading a program Into the 2068 Is
always divided into two parts , The Header
and then the program or bytes or array.

R-HEADER reads the header without
loading the program. The header contains
the following Information:

1. Program Type (BASIC, code, array)

2. NAME

3. Length with and without variables

4. Auto-Run line (BASIC)

5. Byte Origin (Code)

Type in the listing and save it before
RUNning. Then RUN, Follow instructions.
The program will list contents of any
headers it encounters from tape.

Real Gagnon
Quebec

, List i ng 1 : R— HEADER program

1 REM R-HEADER 2063 by GAGN0N-o95

2 CLEAR 31999

5 BORDER 0: PAPER 0: BRIGHT is INK 5: CLS
10 GO BUB 1000

50 CLS : GO SUB 600: BEEP .01,10: PRINT AT 10,9; INK 0; PAPER 6; FLASH l;"STA
RT CASSETTE"

60 RANDOMIZE USR 32000
65 BEEP .01,45

69 CLS : GO SUB 600

70 LET ix=32256

80 LET type= PEEK ix

90 PRINT INVERSE 1 7 < " Program : " AND type=0)+( "Numeric Array:" AND ty pe=l ) + ( " St
ring Array:" AND by pe-2 ) + < " By tes Block:" AND type=3);

1GQ PRINT INVERSE 0;" FOR n=ix+l TO ix+10: PRINT CHRS PEEK n;s NEXT n

110 PRINT INVERSE l 77 +("Prog. + Variable " AND by pe=0 ) + ( " Code " AND bype)?" Le
ng b h : " ;

120 PRINT INVERSE 0;" "; PEEK <ix+ll)+256* PEEK (ix+12)

130 IF by pe= 1 OR type=2 THEN PRINT INVERSE 1 7 " Var i able : " ; : PRINT INVERSE 0 ; "
"; CHRS ( PEEK ( ix+14)-32~64*( PEEK ( ix+ 14 ) > 1 92 ) ) + ( " S" AND bype=2): GO TO 175
140 PRINT 7 : PRINT INVERSE 1 i ( "Auto-Run Line:" AND by pe=0 )+(" Block Origin:" AN
D bype=3) ;

150 PRINT INVERSE 0;" "; PEEK ( i x+ 13 ) +256* PEEK ( ix+14)

155 IF type=3 THEN GO TO 175

160 PRINT INVERSE l 7 ("Program Length:" AND type=0);

170 PRINT INVERSE 0?" " ; PEEK <ix+15)+256* PEEK ( ix+16)

175 PRINT 7 7 7 OVER 1 ; " "

180 PRINT 77 OVER 1;" S: STOP ENTER: CONTINUE " : PAUSE 0: IF INKEY* = " s

" OR INKEYS ="S" THEN STOP
190 RUN

60 C PLOT 0,0: DRAW 255,0: DRAW 0,175: DRAW -255,0: DRAW 0,-175: PRINT INVERSE
l; AT 0,9; "R-HEADER 2068"? AT 1,9?" GAGNON-o 35 " 77
610 RETURN

10G0 REM the M. C.

1010 DATA 221,33,0,126,175,17,17,0,55, 1,254,254,205, 153, 100,205,252,0, 186,32,240

, 219,255,203, 191,211,255, 175,211,244,201

1020 FOR 1=32000 TO 32030: READ A: POKE I, A: NEXT I

1030 RETURN

9991 SAVE "lect2068" LINE is VERIFY " lecb2068"

112

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